On April 23, 2025, the Ministry of Health published Order No. 703 "On Approval of the Operational Plan for the Transition of Ukraine to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Eleventh Revision for 2025-2026". By the end of 2026, the Ukrainian healthcare system must prepare the necessary conditions for the effective implementation of the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision in 2027. In the classification of autism, the transition from ICD-10 to ICD-11 marks a paradigm shift from disparate diagnoses to a single autism spectrum (ASD) with individual profiles that can be diagnosed in adults.
The definition of ASD in ICD-11 has become more modern and consistent with new diagnostic standards. Key changes include:
- combining autism subtypes with ICD-10, in which all autism variants are combined into one spectrum - this makes it easier to make a diagnosis;
- simplifying diagnostic criteria into two groups: persistent deficits in social communication and interaction and limited, repetitive behavioral patterns and interests;
- introduction of new codes that reflect the functional level and the possibility of coexistence with other comorbid disorders (general code for "Autism Spectrum Disorder" 6A02, specifications), which is very important for the work of expert teams (working instead of the MSEC) and facilitates both diagnosis and disability.
These changes greatly simplify diagnosis and provide better care for people with ASD, creating the basis for a more holistic view of autism as a spectrum of conditions, which gives a chance to improve support for every person with this disorder throughout their lives.
One of the most important achievements of the innovations in ICD-11 is the ability to diagnose ASD in adulthood - after the age of 18, accordingly coding the disorder in the Electronic Healthcare System (EHS). Under the ICD-10 system, such coding is not possible, which is the main legal barrier to diagnosing autism after the age of 18.
Inna Sergienko, founder of the NGO "Child with the Future" and consul of Autism Europe, notes:
"Unfortunately, the problem of transition to adult disability for children with autism is not new. We have been facing it for the last 14 years, when autistic people after the age of 18 are diagnosed with schizophrenia, organic brain damage and other diagnoses that often close the door for children to study and work. We have reached the point where the Ministry of Health recognized the existence of "adult autism" through its order, but with the creation of the Electronic Healthcare System, the problem arose of the impossibility of coding this condition in adults, because according to ICD-10, there was no such diagnosis in adults. With the new International Classification of Diseases, which defines ASD as a lifelong condition, this problem should no longer exist."
ICD-11 will be implemented according to the Operational Manual approved by the Ministry of Health. plan Ukraine's transition to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Eleventh Revision for 2025-2026. According to the plan, 2025 is dedicated to organizational issues of ICD-11 implementation (translation into Ukrainian, analysis of the regulatory framework to be changed, etc.), and 2026 is dedicated to practical issues, including training healthcare workers to use the codes, bringing the regulatory framework in line with ICD-11, reviewing approaches to financing under the Medical Guarantee Program, etc. This means that at the beginning of 2027, the Ukrainian healthcare system is obliged to enter a new phase, stop using ICD-10 and use ICD-11, which is highly anticipated by all those involved in autism: parents, adult autistic people, doctors, NGOs, etc.
