Many are unaware of the rising numbers of Autism cases, with hope to make a change to this, thousands of letters have gone out to President Barack Obama and others bringing attention to a new campaign, a campaign with one question, 'How Much Longer ?’…

The 10th September 2009, saw The National Autism Association (NAA) declaring the day as National "How Much Longer" Day for Autism.

This was no ordinary day, it was a day filled with letter-writing to the media, health agencies, Department of Education, lawmakers and the Obama Administration asking for such things as health insurance coverage, federal laws to protect special-ed students from dangerous restraint and seclusion practices in schools, safer vaccines, and for autism to be declared a nation health crisis.

The World reacted to the attention being paid to the H1N1 virus, causing more and more parents to question why autism is the fastest growing disorder, yet has received very little aid.

NAA stated, "We've asked for [help] politely, impolitely, loudly, softly, creatively, professionally, in small numbers and in large... we've asked and we've asked again. But as it stands today, we have more cases of abuse, wandering-related deaths, seizure-related deaths, bankruptcies and divorce in our community than ever before. With the fatigue that comes from constant uphill battles, along with a gross lack of resources, we live in a permanent state of asking one question: How Much Longer?"

When asking the public to participate, NAA says, "Say yes only if you don't mind a little controversy." They went on to say, "when you live day to day seeing an increasing number of children suffer from vulgar abuse, impossible challenges, even death, you tend to put graceful asks aside for a message that people might actually notice."

According to a recently released survey by the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH), Autism Spectrum Disorders now affects 1 in 100 children.