Enoch and Nehemiah are brothers who both receive services from Cleveland Sight Center. While they have the same diagnosis and are both blind, they each have their own unique personalities!

Enoch is the older brother and currently attends Cleveland Sight Center’s Preschool. He loves swinging and exploring books by touching braille. Nehemiah currently receives Early Intervention services, just like his big brother did! He is currently working on pulling to stand and taking steps.

Their parents found out both of their sons would be blind at birth through an ultrasound anatomy scan. Once Enoch was born, his family connected with Cleveland Sight Center. From there, an early intervention specialist met them at the NICU and continued with home visits from there.

“When you get the diagnosis your child is blind with all this other stuff, you feel so isolated and alone,” said Natalie, Enoch and Nehemiah’s mom. “But we're not alone. There are others out there going through similar things we're going through.”

In addition to knowing they aren’t alone in their parenting journey, Enoch and Nehemiah’s parents learned different strategies to help their sons meet their milestones. They used a little room, which was a “gamechanger” in helping their sons explore their surroundings.  The cube-like structure allows children to touch items, move and explore in a safe and confined space. When in a little room, a baby lies on their back so they can look up and interact with the toys dangling near them.

Their sons’ success in CSC’s Early Intervention program led Natalie and her husband to look into CSC’s Preschool. They met preschool family alumni at White Cane Walk, CSC’s annual fundraiser, and heard their impactful stories about their experiences. When Enoch turned 3 years old and aged out of early intervention services and his family began the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process for preschool, they knew Cleveland Sight Center’s Preschool was the right choice. CSC’s Children’s Case Manager, Jen, worked with Natalie to ensure the transition process was smooth.

While Natalie felt emotional dropping off her son at CSC’s Preschool for the first time, she knew Enoch was where he needed to be.

 “It was a sigh of relief to be able to drop him off and know he was in good hands,” she explained. “I don't have to put on a physical therapist hat. I don't have to put on the OT hat, speech hat or TVI hat. I can just be mom.”

Now that Enoch has a couple months of preschool under his belt, his family can see the progress he’s making toward his goals.

“After he had been here about a month, and we got his IEP report back, I thought, wow, he's really thriving!” Natalie said. “He's achieving and going in the right direction. He's on track to achieve his goals!”

Their family is looking forward to Nehemiah continuing to follow in his big brother’s footsteps. Whether it’s one family member or more, Cleveland Sight Center is here to support families as they navigate growing up in a visual world.

“[Cleveland Sight Center] is a big community and family, and it's been a great journey,” Natalie said. “With all the support and care that everybody has at Cleveland Sight Center, it's really been helpful.”