Man United: Paul Scholes has taken suspension work to care for his son

Scholes initially kept his son’s diagnosis a secret during his playing career and revealed he was left out by United manager Sir Alex Ferguson as he tried to deal with the situation in private.

“I never got a break from it, even when I was playing, it was very difficult in those days,” added Scholes, one of United’s key players in the 1999 treble season.

“I don’t think they diagnosed him until he was two-and-a-half years old. But you know early on that something is wrong, but then you get diagnosed, and I’ve never heard of it.”

“I remember the first time we played an away derby and I didn’t want to be there.

“I remember the manager let me go the next week, and I didn’t tell anyone. I ended up telling them a few weeks later, as it was very difficult.

“Even now, I don’t want sympathy or anything. I just thought, even if I talked to someone about it, it wouldn’t help Aiden.

“The biggest worry now is, ’cause you’re getting a little older, what happens when you’re not here? That’s the thing that’s on my mind now all the time.”

Autism spectrum disorder – its medical name – is the name for a group of conditions that affect how a person communicates and interacts with the world around him, as well as his interests and behavior.

It is not a disease or illness, but a condition that someone is born with, and it is estimated that one in 100 people in the UK are autistic.