Gigi Jordan Found Guilty of Manslaughter In Death of Son with ASD

A woman who said she poisoned her disabled son to prevent him from being sexually abused was found guilty of manslaughter on Wednesday after a two-month trial.

On its fifth day of deliberations, a jury of seven men and five women accepted the claims of the woman, Gigi Jordan, that she had acted in the throes of an “extreme emotional disturbance.” The verdict allowed Ms. Jordan, 53, to escape a murder conviction.

Ms. Jordan showed no emotion as the verdict was read at 10:48 a.m. She faces anywhere from five to 25 years in prison when sentenced; had she been convicted of murder, she would have faced a sentence of 25 years to life.

Study: Cognitive Development and Sleep

There are few sights more peaceful than a quietly sleeping infant, and a good night's rest for baby may offer much more than just a respite for weary parents. 

University of Arizona researchers are exploring how infants' early sleep quality might affect their cognitive development later on.

After Vote, Ohio Braces for Service Cuts

MARION, Ohio  – Voters rejected a Marion County Board of Developmental Disabilities levy 9,366 to 6,401, according to final unofficial results at the Marion County Board of Elections.
"Now what? That's the big question, right?" Cheryl Plaster said to a fellow supporter after viewing the unofficial final count on the elections board website.

The Marion County DD Board would not be able to continue providing current services to developmentally disabled residents if voters defeated the levy, Plaster said, prior to Election Day.

A Stunned, Yet Understanding Community

Autism advocates were horrified by the death of 6-year-old London McCabe, a nonverbal autistic boy who plunged to his death off an Oregon bridge. But many confessed another, troubling reaction to allegations that his mother was responsible: understanding.

Tricare Delays Autism Service Reduction

Tricare announced earlier this month it would delay until 2015 a reduction in the reimbursement level for some autism services, pending the results of an independent study.According to the Department of Defense, the independent study, conducted by Rand Corp., will determine the prevailing rate for the services.Tricare is expected to postpone the 46-percent pay cut for board-certified behavior analysts or BCBAs until April 20, which means analysts — who previously were paid $125 per hour — will only be paid $68 per hour after the reduction, according to the DoD.

Researchers: Better Detection, Diagnosis Factors Behind Rise In Autism

The dramatic increase in the number of children diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder is largely the result of changes in how the condition is reported, Danish researchers contend.

At least in Denmark, the researchers say, most of the increase -- 60 percent -- can be attributed to changes in diagnostic criteria and the inclusion of out-of-hospital diagnoses.These findings should provide some relief for parents who've worried that the increase in numbers was caused solely by more kids actually developing the disorder, the study authors suggested.

Ohio Families, School Districts at Odds

Teresa Kaminski was convinced her son was autistic. Her school district was not.

After more than six years of watching Jared struggle socially and academically and begging administrators to hold him back a grade, Kaminski took him to a local psychiatrist and then to a neuropsychologist at Akron Children’s Hospital. The doctor diagnosed him as being on the autism spectrum.

But even after she presented the findings to the special-education team at Perry

Local Schools, they instead classified her son as having attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Administrators attributed his delays to a lack of maturity — common in boys, they said — and told Kaminski he would catch up.