Elijah’s Story

Elijah smiling at the camera.

Plaintiff in J.N v. Oregon Department of Education

Ten-year-old Elijah is a funny, quirky “ray of sunshine” who loves dinosaurs, is interested in archaeology and is a wonderful big brother. He loved school and began with good academic skills above his grade level. He also experiences autism. This means that social interaction and reading people’s non-verbal communications are a challenge for him. He has not been consistently allowed to attend a full day of school for more than a year.

Even though he continues to love math, Elijah’s academic skills no longer surpass those of his classmates. More importantly, after years of shortened school days, he no longer loves school because he feels that nobody wants him to be there.