CHANGING DIAGNOSIS IS EXPECTED TO LEAD TO CUTS IN GOVERNMENTAL ASSISTANCE TO PEOPLE WITH AUTISM. Yesterday Newsday reported that the updating of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatrist Association due in 2013 will change the definition of autism enough to exclude thousands from benefiting from governmental assistance programs that include training for work, independent living, and the development of social and academic abilities. Dr. Fred Volkman, a former panelist for the Manual, stated that 1/2 of those who were defined as "higher functioning" could be excluded. Dr. Von Bergeijk, Dean of the New York Institute of Technology and Director of the Vocational Independence Program noted that 40% of his students are considered "higher functioning" and some of them are smarter than the instructors themselves, quoting as an example one student with an IQ of 143. Just to be contentious, two studies conducted by the Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, Massachussets and Stanford University in Palo Alto California found instead that there would be an increase in diagnosis for 1%, while for the other the drop would be 4 to 5%.