SCHOLES QUITS TV TO CARE FOR SON

United legend tells of autism struggles with lad Aiden, 20

- BY PHIL CARDY

PAUL Scholes said he has taken a step back from TV punditry to spend more time caring for his severely autistic son.

In an emotional interview, the Manchester United legend opened up on the challenges and rewards of looking after 20-year-old Aiden.

Scholes, 50, has been a regular on TV since his retirement in 2013.

But this season the ex-England midfielder has given up the majority of his TV work to build a routine with Aiden, who is nonverbal and was diagnosed with “severe autism” at the age of two-and-a-half.

He told Gary Neville on the Stick to Football podcast: “All the work I do now is just around his routines, 'cos he has quite a strict routine every single day, so I just decided everything I'm going to do, it is around Aiden.”

Scholes told how he had split from childhood sweetheart Claire Froggatt, who he wed in 1999, and they share parenting responsibilities three days a week each, with Aiden spending Fridays with his granny.