An Articulate Woman Who Happens to Have Asperger's

The Boston Globe this week published stories focusing on three Boston area college students with Asperger's syndrome. If you have two minutes to spare, click on this link to reach a page that takes you to an audio recording and slide show of Nomi Kaim, a 23-year-old woman who walks 4 miles to her class at Harvard Extension School as a way to calm her body and mind.

The audio clip is remarkable for Kaim's self-awareness. She is articulate in explaining her challenges with "executive functioning" makes it difficult to organize her thoughts to do chores at home or schoolwork. "I can spend a lot of time and energy on the logistics of life," she says, which leaves her less time and energy to look for friends.

The accompanying article on Kaim, by Irene Sege, does an admirable job of laying out other emotional and social challenges facing this young woman who received a diagnosis after leaving Bryn Mawr College because it was so intense for her. Through the support of her family, medication and her own determination, she appears to be doing well.

A second story visits with two other college students -- one doing better than the other both in classes and social situations -- to illustrate the point that like every case on the autism spectrum, every case of Asperger's is slightly different. (Note: if you keep clicking on Globe links, the website will ask you to register.)

The information presented here is reminiscent of a recent New York Times report about students with Asperger's going to college and the accommodations that their schools sought to make. You can read a recap of that report by clicking here.