Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety in youth with an autism spectrum disorder: A follow-up study.

The team tracked 32 autistic kids who had finished a CBT course for anxiety.

They called families 10 to 26 months later to see if the worry came back.

No control group—just the same kids measured twice.

Most kids kept their big anxiety drop; the average score stayed low.

Still, a small bounce appeared and fewer children met the “responder” cut-off.

In short: gains last, but booster sessions may be needed.

Bassett-Gunter et al. (2017) extends this picture: when the child gets CBT, parents also feel less depressed and handle stress better.

Méliná et al. (2019) looks similar on paper—both are one-year follow-ups—but the story flips. Their low-intensity ABA group kept IQ gains yet autism symptoms returned, while R’s CBT group kept anxiety low with slight return.

Andersen et al. (2015) adds a two-year lens: parent-reported depression in autistic youth can drop even when core autism traits stay flat, matching R’s view that anxiety change is possible without broad autism change.

You can tell families that CBT for anxiety in autism is not a one-and-done deal. Plan a brief booster check-in at six and twelve months. Use a short parent mood scale at the same time—Bassett-Gunter et al. (2017) shows this costs nothing extra and may catch caregiver burnout early.