Connor's helping aid projects take flight

Derrick McCourt and son Connor, who has Asperger Syndrome.

Yet, speak to him for any length of time, and it soon becomes obvious that Connor is different. For one thing his knowledge of the Airbus A380 is perhaps only surpassed by the engineers who designed the plane. He has none of the tongue-tied shyness usual to children when they speak to adults they don't know. And he doesn't fidget, not once in the 30 minutes his dad Derrick talks about him and his condition.

That though, is apparently unusual. For Connor sufferers from Asperger Syndrome, one of the many varying conditions of autism, and focus can be a problem for him. As can a change in his routine. Interacting socially with other children is also an issue, although he is more than able to hold his own with adults.

However, it is his condition which is now helping other children and young adults who also suffer from some form of autism. Derrick, happens to be in the fortunate position of being able to decide where to spend Microsoft Scotland's charitable donations.

Ironically it has been suggested that Bill Gates, the billionaire head of the firm, is in fact an "Aspie". Apparently the tycoon has certain personality quirks, including a lack of social skills, which many have concluded point to his being on the autistic spectrum.

Whether or not it's true is between Gates and his doctor, but for Derrick McCourt and his wife Aideen, the condition is a daily issue.

"Connor was born at just over 28 weeks so we had all sorts of complications to deal with at first," recalls Derrick, 41, as his son listens intently. "We were at a football match in Dublin and he was almost born in the grounds." "I love football," interrupts Connor.

Derrick continues: "He had a brain bleed which has left a weakness in his left-hand side and..." "I have to wear a cast on my left leg to help me walk properly," Connor states. "But it's so tickly."

Derrick smiles and carries on: "He also had hydrocephalus, which was a swelling of the brain, so we had a real time of it. But it was only when he was at nursery that we began to realise that he wasn't quite developing in the same way as our other two children.

"He's a very affable young man, but the nursery told us they had witnessed some behavioural changes, that he got on very well with the teachers but not the children, that a change in routine seemed to really upset him, and he didn't seem to have the same ability as others to stick with a task. He also had the potential to strike out, which was very different to the behaviour we saw in him.

"We were lucky in that because of his other health issues, we had a lot of health workers around, so when the nursery suggested bringing in an educational psychologist it all happened very quickly."

Asperger is a form of autism which affects people's social interaction and communication - they can either be unable to talk to others, or rudely butt into conversations with no awareness of behavioural norms. They have little ability in reading other people's faces and struggle with humour or sarcasm. All of which can leave them feeling frustrated, confused and isolated.

However, it's believed that Aspies are highly-functioning and indeed can have higher levels of intelligence than most people. Indeed, NASA has been described as a sheltered workshop for people with autism and Asperger and other great minds such as Einstein and Eddison have, with hindsight, been diagnosed with the condition.

Certainly for the McCourts Connor's diagnosis came at a good time. The family, which also includes Jamie, 18, Lucy, 11 and four-year-old Joe, were living in Ballymena, Northern Ireland but Microsoft decided to transfer Derrick to Edinburgh to head up operations in Scotland.

"In Northern Ireland you have to go through a process where you have to prove that your child needs extra support when they start school," says Derrick. "In fact just after we moved were received a letter telling us he would have had no support in Ballymena, so his problems would no doubt have just been put down to bad behaviour, rather than the frustration which he can feel.

"But here things are much easier. As soon as you have that diagnosis it seems to be understood that help will be required. And he has had fantastic support."

Derrick is talking about Fox Covert RC Primary School where Connor is now in primary two. "We literally could have gone anywhere when we moved, but I'm so glad we opted for this school as I've discovered since there's a bit of a postcode lottery in terms of the support on offer.

"But here Connor has a learning assistant part-time to help him stay focused, and also with the transition from one thing to another," says Derrick. "There's been fantastic communication between the school, council and health board, and when we have his assessment meetings there are around ten people there, all involved with helping him. It's been great, and he's doing very well.

"In the class there's a tent in the corner for Connor to go to if things are getting too much for him. If the noise levels are getting too much for him to cope with, the teacher is great at spotting that."

Now as a result of his experience with autism and Asperger, Derrick has decided to make the National Autistic Society Scotland one of the main beneficiaries of Microsoft Scotland's charitable fundraising. At a Burns Supper it raised 24,000 for NAS Scotland and children's charity Aberlour. While 12,000 was raised on the night, Derrick saw to it that the amount was doubled by Microsoft.

"NAS does a fantastic job and I wanted to help support them," he says. "One of the best things about being the boss is you can be a little bit selfish when it comes to choosing the things you want to support. I reached out myself to NAS and met the director Robert Moffat. I wanted to work with an organisation which would work with us in a real partnership, and also one where we could see tangible benefits of where the money would go. So we are helping with the social programme, which is aimed at young adults and teenagers. The behaviours of Asperger's in a child can seem amusing, but in an adult they are more challenging and can lead to people not interacting socially with anyone.

"So we are helping to fund projects aimed specifically at those people, which will make a real difference to their lives."

As for Connor, Derrick believes he's making great strides. "He loves all things science and mechanical, although he can become a little obsessional about things. It's planes at the moment and we recently went to the Museum of Flight and he just had the best day."

"Yes," says Connor. "My favourite is the Airbus A380. It can get 853 people on it. I like to remind people of that. And I think I want to be a pilot when I'm older. Then I can fly my dad to all the places he has to go. That would be fantastic."

For more information on Asperger Syndrome or autism visit www.autism.org.uk

Making sense of world

Asperger Syndrome is a form of autism, which affects how a person makes sense of the world, processes information and relates to other people.

Discovered by Hans Asperger, a German doctor, many sufferers have above average intelligence, and he believed that "for success in science or art, a dash of autism is essential."

Asperger is quite a hidden disability, which mostly affects sufferers' social interaction. They can find understanding conversations difficult, have problems expressing themselves, and may be very literal in what they say. They can struggle with humour and sarcasm.

Other issues for Asperger sufferers may include dyslexia, dyspraxia or conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

There are over half a million people in the UK with an autism spectrum disorder - that's around one in over 100. The condition appears to be more common in males than females and the reason for this is unknown.

The exact cause of Asperger is still being investigated. However, research suggests that a combination of factors - genetic and environmental - may account for changes in brain development.