Paul Scholes has revealed how he hid his son's autistic diagnosis from Manchester United after fearing "he might have to go into care".
The ex-England midfielder admitted his struggles in the new BBC documentary 'Paddy And Christine McGuiness: Our Family And Autism'.
He recalls receiving the diagnosis ahead of a Manchester United match but hid it from everyone despite missing an open goal with a "terrible performance" - he was dropped for the next game, as reported by The Sun.
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The father-of-three and his wife of 22 years, Claire Froggat, knew there was "something wrong" with their son before doctors referred him to specialists.
But they have accepted that Aiden, 16, will likely be unable to talk or live independently for the rest of his life.
Still, they celebrate every achievement their "amazing, happy boy" accomplishes.
Paul said: "We took him to a place in Oldham and that was the first time I thought of autism as it had signs around about the things autistic children tend to do.
“We got the diagnosis when we were playing Derby away and I was shocking. I was terrible. I didn’t want to be there. My head was gone.
“I was worrying about autism, reading about autism, doing everything I could and I was terrible.
“The next game the manager pulled me in and said, ‘I’m leaving you out tonight’… I didn’t play very well. I didn’t tell anyone, I just kept it in.”
Paul felt isolated by the "very macho world of football" which made him unable to speak about his personal issues.
He also spoke about the challenges the family had in looking after Aiden.
Paul added: "“When you’re trying to cut his hair I’ve had him in a headlock [and] it’s disgusting
“He’s biting your arm, you couldn’t wear a T-shirt because me and Claire were just full of scratches all the way up.
“You don’t know what’s causing it, you've got no idea. I don’t know if you just learn to start seeing the signals and then you stop it at that source before it happens.
“You do think about horrible things... I remember he used to come home and he used to go ballistic every day and so we’d let him outside and left him there.
“He was punching, kicking, screaming and I’ve never said this before but I’m looking at him thinking, ‘He might have to go into care, I just don’t know how do you handle that?’”
Paul also provided insight into the world of parents looking after a non-neurotypical child.
“He was punching, kicking, screaming and I’ve never said this before but I’m looking at him thinking, ‘He might have to go into care, I just don’t know how do you handle that?’”
“It’s like he’s eating a chicken curry there, noodles and some chips, let’s take a picture. You’re so happy.”
He also admitted his son struggles with weight and has a bit of a "problem now" but insists: "I don't care, as long as he's eating."
Paul said: “He’s never going to be neurotypical but he’s great and you have to accept that.
“Look we had some terrible, terrible times but as he is now, he’s amazing. He’s a happy boy.
“People look at you in a totally different way but you’ve just got to think, ‘Ah f*** ‘em, I don’t care what they think.’”
Paddy, who has three children with autism, empathised a lot with Paul.
“The biggest thing is not caring what people think and I don’t care what people think either, but obviously I do,” Paddy said.
“I used to get het up if anyone mentioned the word autism to me. I didn't want to speak about it, I didn't want to think about it.
“But now I’m finally talking about autism, I wish I hadn't spent so much time trapped by the feeling of it all.”
