According to a new study, families with autistic children have a harder time making ends meet in a tough economy than families of children with other disabilities. That's because of a lack of insurance. But that may soon change in Illinois.

"These can be anywhere from $22 and this lasts a couple weeks. It's very expensive," says Amber Dudeck, pointing to a stockpile of medications.

Medications, supplements and therapies, they're all necessary to keep 8-year old autistic twins Nick and Zack Dudeck moving forward and they all set the family back about 10 thousand dollars a year. A cost that's especially hard to swallow in our tough economy.

"Do I go to the supplement store and by them the calming supplements and the concentration supplements, or do I put a tank of gas in my car?" says Dudeck.

But things could start to get easier for about 45 hundred Illinois families like the Dudecks, if Governor Rod Blagojevich signs a bill mandating insurance coverage of 36 thousand dollars a year to cover autism diagnosis and treatment.

Amber Dudeck says that would mean peace of mind that she could always afford the treatments her children need.

"There were months that they didn't have their medications and of course school would notice difference in behavior and I would say I'm working on it, but it's embarrassing to say I can't afford the medications that they need," says Dudeck.

The Dudecks have had to pull the kids out of speech therapy at times and forgoe entirely many of the extra treatments they would like to try, like horseback therapy and social interaction therapies to help the kids make friends.

"I was watching him the other day... he wanted to play volleyball with another set of boys and he didn't know how to express it, he just held his arms up and it's heartbreaking when they ignore him and they don't pay attention and I know more of that is to come."

And Dudeck can only hope more help is to come too.

Dudeck says one of the toughest problems has been she couldn't go back to work because the kids require constant care. To make ends meet, they continue to live in a house they've long outgrown and scrimp wherever they can.

A representative from the Governor's office tells us Blagojevich supports autism insurance and is carefully reviewing the bill. He is expected to sign it into law.