Autism ICD 10 Code

Refresher: What are ICD-10 codes?

The WHO and member countries faced the problem of having no standardized code defining different illnesses. As an international organization, they struggled with different names for diseases in different languages and medical practices. As the names of illnesses can be arbitrary and don’t give enough information on their own, they worked to develop a coding system that not only informed the name of a disease but its severity, location in the body where applicable, and details unique to it. Thanks to the ICD codes, the WHO and many member countries are able to collect, store, and analyze vital statistical data about illnesses in a population.

ICD-10 is the tenth revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. It's a coding system utilizing numbers, letters, and decimals to classify all known diseases and ailments people face. It also classifies procedures as well as symptoms of diseases.

Most countries made alterations and additions while adopting the coding system developed by the WHO. In the U.S., "CM" or "Clinical Modification" are codes used in inpatient settings to facilitate better billing and insurance practices and gather statistical data from the population.

In general, ICD-10 codes for pervasive development disorders classify autistic disorder, Asperger’s syndrome, and Rett’s syndrome separately.[1]

What is the ICD 10 code for autism?

Autistic Disorder is a pervasive developmental disorder, usually discovered in early childhood, with markedly slow or impaired development in communication and social interaction, repetitive activities, and a narrow range of interests and activities.

The range of symptoms a patient may or may not exhibit is extensive, making physicians consider autism a “spectrum disorder.” With high functioning autism or Asperger’s syndrome at one end of the spectrum and autism with speech impairment and inability to care for oneself at the other end. Due to the vast range of the symptoms in the spectrum, it includes several disorders, of which Kanner’s syndrome is often dubbed autistic disorder.

For autistic disorder, the general ICD 10 code is F84.0, whereas the ICD 10 code for Asperfger’s syndrome is F84.5, Rett’s syndrome is F84.2, and Other childhood disintegrative disorder is F84.3. Further specifications are described below.

Primary autism ICD 10 code: F84.0

Autistic Disorder ICD 10 code F84.0 lookup

Below is a table of the ICD 10 autism codes for autistic disorder, which are classified under F84.0,.[2]

F84.0: Autistic Disorder [3],[4]

autism ICD 10 code

Types of autism included under F84.0

While Autism spectrum disorder has five types, including Asperger’s syndrome, Rett’s syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, Kanner's syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder, the ICD 10 code F84.0 specifies Kanner’s syndrome or moderate Autism similar to it, often denoted as classic autistic disorder. An F84.0 code can be applied to various terms:

  • Autism spectrum disorder
  • Infantile autism
  • Infantile psychosis
  • Kanner's syndrome

In other words, someone with autism spectrum disorder with symptoms related to communication, social interactions, language delays, cognitive delays, and repetitive behavior will be classified under F84.0.

Classic autism is further divided into active state classic autism (F84.00) or residual state classic autism (F84.01).

Autism Spectrum Disorders excluded from ICD-10 F84.0

One specific autistic spectrum disorder is excluded from ICD-10 F84.0 and is classified entirely exclusively (“type 1 exclude”), namely Asperger’s syndrome (F84.5). These two conditions cannot be reported together as they are considered impossible to appear at the same time. Reporting them together is considered a misdiagnosis, as Asperger’s syndrome does not include language or cognitive development delays as classical autistic disorder does. Asperger’s. While there are many similarities between the two, the diagnosis can either be one or the other.

Other ASD Disorder ICD 10 code: F84

Other ASD Disorder ICD 10 code F84 lookup

The ICD 10 codes for other types of autism are under ICD 10 code F84 (Pervasive developmental disorders)

These are further broken down into F84.2 (Rett's syndrome), F84.3 (Other childhood disintegrative disorder), F84.5 (Asperger's syndrome), F84.8 (Other pervasive developmental disorders), and F84.9 (Pervasive developmental disorder, unspecified).

Conclusion

While ASD, or Autism Spectrum Disorder, includes several different pervasive development disorders, classical autism, or Kanner’s syndrome, is defined under the ICD-10 code F84.0.

The ICD-10 code for autism depends on whether the autism is active or residual state autism. In both cases, a patient has shown symptoms of autism that are debilitating and actively impacting their life. However, in active classical autism (F84.00) the symptoms are exhibited in full swing, while in residual classical autism (F84.01) the symptoms appear to have diminished over time or temporarily and aren’t actively impairing their life.