Paul Scholes: My son is autistic

Former England and Manchester United footballer Paul Scholes has revealed that his youngest son is autistic.

In a serialisation of his autobiography Scholes: My Story, in The Sun, the retired midfielder speaks about Aiden, six.

Scholes, 36, who has three children with wife Claire, said: "Aiden has quite severe learning difficulties, so he can't take part in most sports at the moment, though he does love swimming.

"We hope his condition improves but we're not banking on it, just doing everything we can to make sure he has a happy life." Autism causes problems with social skills and communication, and is linked with repetitive behaviour.