abilityindisability

Local Teen Sets Example of Ability, Not Disability

In this interview with Rachel Nania of WTOP, Rachna Heizer discusses how the family first learned of Jake’s musical talent and just how far he’s come.

“Rachna Heizer will never forget the time she was in the kitchen and heard the sound of nursery rhymes coming from the hallway. She assumed her 3-year-old was playing with a push-button toy, but when she turned the corner, she saw her then-nonverbal son figuring out familiar tunes on a miniature plastic piano.

“He’d heard [the nursery rhymes] enough that he had memorized them and taught himself to play them,” said Heizer, a resident of Fairfax County, Virginia.

‘And you couldn’t keep him away.'”

READ MORE: https://wtop.com/lifestyle/2018/10/local-teen-sets-example-of-ability-not-disability/

Rachna Heizer Discusses Jake’s Music & Autism Journey

In this interview with Catherine Read, Jake’s mother Rachna Heizer speaks about her son, Jake Sizemore, who is a local musician with special needs. Rachna speaks with Catherine about her journey as a parent navigating the system with a child with an autism diagnosis, and how she learned to focus on Jake’s abilities, instead of his disabilities, in order to discover his gifts.

READ MORE: https://readthinkact.com/rachna-heizer/

Burke Student Receives ‘Yes I Can’ Award

This article by Marissa Beale of The Connection, features a young Jake Sizemore being honored with the “Yes I Can” Award.

Burke resident Jake Sizemore was diagnosed with low-functioning autism at the age of 2-and-a-half. Now, 11 years later at age 13, he plays in a band at a music school called “School of Rock” with other students who are his age. And while he still has trouble communicating, he is able to excite audiences with his music, from the stage. And this year he became one of 21 young people across the country honored in the “Yes I Can” Awards ceremony at the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) 2015 Convention & Expo.

“I like crowds. Enjoy the applause the most,” said Sizemore. To those who are nervous about performing, he just says “Take a deep breath and rock out!”

– Jake Sizemore

READ MORE: http://www.connectionnewspapers.com/news/2015/may/13/burke-student-receives-yes-i-can-award/

A Musician’s Story

In this video, Rachna Sizemore Heizer (Jake’s mother) passionately tells the story of Musicminded Jake at the NEA Foundation Symposium on the Promise of Public Education.

For additional details on this event:

“Rachna Sizemore Heizer, a public school parent from Fairfax County, Va., shared the story of her son, Jake, a teenager with autism. Jake is a musical prodigy whose unique needs have helped, rather than hinder, his education, and Heizer explained her hard won fight to get the district to focus on his abilities rather than his disabilities. The audience got a first-hand look at his abilities when he came onstage to perform.“