Diagnosis and treatment of child and adolescent anxiety disorders.

The author read every paper he could find on kids with anxiety or OCD. He then wrote a story-style review in 1991. He asked: which treatments have proof?

He looked at both talk-therapy and pill studies. He focused on work done with children and teens.

Exposure-based behavioral plans came out on top. These are graded steps that let the child face the scary thing until fear drops.

Drug studies were thin. Too few kids, too short, and little follow-up.

Cox et al. (2015) and Flygare et al. (2020) extend the same exposure recipe to autistic youth and adults. Big anxiety drops still show up, proving the 1991 tip travels beyond neurotypical kids.

Bitsika et al. (2015) and Greene et al. (2019) warn that anxiety scores change depending on who fills the form—parent, teacher, or child—especially in ASD. So the 1991 call for solid diagnosis still matters.

Parsons et al. (2013) echoes the 1991 pill gap: even decades later, long-term drug data in autism remain scarce. The song has not changed.

You already have the tool that works: step-by-step exposure. Start it, track it, and do not wait for perfect med data. When autism joins the picture, keep the same exposure bones but add visuals, shorter sessions, and booster checks. Collect ratings from both parent and teacher—single informants miss half the story.