Clients may notice new diagnostic codes on treatment notes and evaluation reports after October 1, 2015. This is due to federal changes in the coding as the entire healthcare system switches from ICD 9 (International Classification of Diseases 9th edition) to ICD 10 (10th edition). Be assured the “diagnosis” is not changing, just the numbers that equate to it. Instead of being a 5-digit number, the new codes have a letter and anywhere from 3-5 numbers. This allows for more specificity in the diagnosis. This change is not just impacting speech and language codes, but will be reflected across ALL medical diagnoses. For more information on how the changes affect speech and language therapy, please visit the American Speech and Hearing ASsociation (ASHA) website at ASHA.