Murphy Vetter, a child in PLEAS case, is first with special needs to play football in Olentangy Youth Athletic Association

September 16, 2013 / Autism

Murphy Vetter was one of 123 children in the lawsuit Disability Rights Ohio brought on behalf of the Parents League for Effective Autism Services (PLEAS) against the Ohio Department of Mental Health and the Department of Job and Family Services in 2008. The case was settled in 2011.

According to Kerstin Sjoberg-Witt, legal director for Disability Rights Ohio, in a story by Alan Johnson in the Saturday, September 14, 2013, edition of The Columbus Dispatch:

The settlement covered 123 youngsters, including Murphy, who can receive all necessary treatment for which they qualify under Medicaid. Other youngsters are limited to 104 hours per year — two hours a week — unless they obtain prior approval.

“Overall, it’s a big improvement to no access at all,” Sjoberg-Witt said. “There’s still an enormous gap for kids with autism to get the treatment they need to see improvement.”

Now 11 years old, Murphy is the first child with special needs to play football for the Olentangy Youth Athletic Association, an extracurricular sports league in the Olentangy Local School District.

Read more about Murphy and the strides he's made in the Dispatch article: Football one step on journey toward 'normal' for one special needs boy