CHILDREN/PARENTS COURSE
Proven Guide to Support Children With Color Vision Deficiency
The GUIDE is for parents who want to get the best start in life for their child without spending hours and days searching about color blindness on the internet or getting random advice on social networks that might not work for their child.
Click here to start this FREE online course from the beginning.
Part 1: For Parents
2. Parents Q&A
In this part, you can read the questions that parents asked about color blindness and find some answers. Maybe some of these questions are similar to yours.
I felt some guilt around not realizing my son is colorblind sooner
Colorblind children are very clever at hiding their color blindness! They will use all of their senses to compensate. Even if your child is very young, it would be hard for them to understand what it is. The most important thing is you are always there to help.
Should I correct him when he is wrong?
Definitely, do that! The reason is, that at a young age children memorize colors that they can't see. So, if you don't correct them, they will get more confused about school tasks or any color-related, color-coding activities in the future.
We recommend avoiding questions like "what color do you see" and "what color is this?" These can be very frustrating questions for your child and he/she will try to escape color-related conversations with you. Instead, point to colors and name the colors for them.
How can we cheer up a colorblind child?
Usually, children feel better when they hear about some of the advantages they have about being color deficient. Present it as a 'superpower' they have- like a character in marvel movies. For example; your child would love to hear that he/she has better night vision. Or he can spot and see-through camouflage much better than a person with normal vision.
This video might be helpful.
Hidden Talents of the Colorblind!
A Story For Colorblind Children
My child is the only child in our whole family with color vision deficiency, no history of anyone else. Is it possible?
Color Vision Deficiency - is an inherited condition, which means one of your family members had and shared this gene. It’s not always come from close relatives, it can come from grandparents, from their mother's or father’s side. Do not worry if your child has been diagnosed. In most cases, many people were not even tested years ago, and many families simply didn't know much about this condition.
Color blindness inherited from mother or father?
Red-green color blindness is a recessive sex-linked trait, which causes more men to be colorblind than women. More women than men are carriers of the color blindness gene, even though they are not colorblind themselves.
A father can’t pass his red-green color blindness on to his sons.
If a woman is red-green colorblind, all her sons will also be colorblind.
Can women be colorblind?
Approximately 1 in 200 females are colorblind (0.5%), but colorblindness is more common among males (8%).
How to explain color blindness to my other children with normal vision?
You can explain that color blindness means the person sees the colors of the world in a different way from others. You can use the colorblind simulator, apps, or images on the internet to help them understand.
In the part 2 of this guide, there is an animation designed to for children to learn about color blindness.
Why can't colorblind people see some colors?
Retina has two types of cells called cones and rods. Cone cells control color vision by telling the brain that the color is red, green, blue, or a combination of them. When one of these cells doesn't work well and doesn't send the right signal, then the person will have trouble seeing certain colors.
How can we have a better understanding of the colors my colorblind child can see?
There are many online stimulators and apps these days that can help you understand the colors that your child can see or those that seem confusing. You can find mobile applications that will show you what an image or object would look like to someone who is colorblind (protanope, tritanopia, and deuteranope).
Moreover, in this course, we created a short video presentation showing different colors on the screen; you will be able to ask your child about those colors to give you a better understanding of his/her vision.
Overall, each child has a different type and severity of color blindness, so you won't be able to fully understand how he/she sees the world, but with the guidelines we provide in this course, you will get all the information on what to do to help him/her with everyday tasks.
You can use the colorblind simulator by clicking here
Do colorblind people have trouble with traffic lights?
The answer is no, most colorblind people learned to tell traffic lights by individual light placement;
For example, when it comes to horizontal signals: red is always on the LEFT, and in vertical signals: red is always on the top.
What does it mean to be red-green colorblind?
It means that the colorblind individual will have difficulty recognizing and differentiating between colors that have some red or green as part of the whole color. For example, the purple color will look blue because the eye can't recognize the red color in purple.
COLORING BOOK
Colorblind Children
The severity of red-green color blindness
The effects of color vision deficiency can be mild, moderate, or severe. People with both red and green deficiencies live in a world of murky greens where blues and yellows stand out.
Most people with a moderate form of red-green color blindness will only be able to identify accurately 5 or so colored pencils from a standard box of 24 pencil crayons.
What causes color blindness?
Red-green color blindness is typically caused by genetic mutations. Color blindness occurs when there are genetic deficiencies with one or more of the three cones. For example, if just one of the pigments ( red cones, or green cones) is missing in the retina, or two pigments are so close to each other, the person will have trouble seeing certain colors, resulting in different types of red-green color blindness.
What is the difference between Deutan and Protan?
The deutan color blindness is related to the green cones in the retina. If the individual doesn't have it, It's deuteranopia type, but if he/she has it and it's close to another cone then it's deueranomaly.
The protan color blindness is related to the red cones in the retina. If the individual doesn't have it, It's protanopia type, but if he/she has it and it's close to another cone then it's protanomaly.
Both types will confuse some blues with some purples and both types will struggle to identify pale shades of most colors.
What colors a protan colorblind person can't see?
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Protanopes are more likely to confuse:
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Black with many shades of red
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Dark brown with dark green, dark orange, and dark red
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Some blues with some reds, purples, and dark pinks
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Mid-greens with some oranges
What colors a deutan colorblind person can't see?
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Deuteranopes are more likely to confuse:-
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Mid-reds with mid-greens
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Blue-green with grey and mid-pinks
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Bright greens with yellows
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Pale pink with light grey
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Mid-reds with mid-brown
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Light blues with lilac
Does the severity of color blindness change with age?
There is no true answer to this question, thus our vision can be affected by many different factors. As we age, our vision can be impaired due to so many things: light, stress, different eye diseases, and so much more.
So when it comes to color deficiency, it’s important to understand that what separates normal vision and CVD is that, for people with CVD “cones” or cone cells responsible for detecting colors are not functioning properly, they are missing some pigments called “Photopigments” that help us see all possible colors.
If your child is exposed to bad lighting or has any other additional eye diseases, it’s possible that in the future it can affect his/her vision of color.
How to inform teachers and the school about my child’s condition?
Our suggestion is to visit the school and inform your child’s classroom teacher. Set up a meeting with a teacher and explain your child’s condition.
In this course, you will find more information in the part 3, with a full outline and guidance, that you can send and share with all the teachers at school. This outline will explain everything about color blindness and how to assist a colorblind student in the classroom.
This is a very critical and vital thing to do, because most of the school materials, tasks, games, and homework assignments are based on color-coding, and your child can be missing out on some of the information every day.
Color Names Stickers, a Simple Solution With a Big Impact
Labeling colors is one of the most common strategies that can help colorblind people at school or at work. It can help them never miss important information and fully understand the subject. For example, teachers can use labels for charts and graphs or use color names stickers for colored pencils/markers for drawing.
To purchase a few of these high quality stickers click here
How can color blindness cause problems in the classroom?
Most colorblind people can't tell the color of a tiny thing like one hair. They cant tell if it's red, brown, or green! They usually see it as black. It's often the same for makers on the whiteboard.
For example, if the classroom is not bright enough, or the student is not sitting too close to the whiteboard. Most of the colors written on a whiteboard will appear as black or, if they are bright colors like light green, colorblind students might not see them at all!
But there is a simple solution, if teachers use different types of lines, like in the picture below, to make sure everyone can see and understand.
How can we make sure he/she is fine at school?
One of the best things you can do is to help him/her confidently communicate color-related problems with teachers in school or during extracurricular activities.
How common is red-green color blindness?
99% of all colorblind people have red-green color blindness, and it's the most common form. There are more than 350 million colorblind people in the world. Just for scale, 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women are colorblind.
I really want to buy my son a pair of colorblind glasses. Should I buy it and which brand is the best?
Colorblind glasses can be a great asset for some and, for others, just a confusing tool. According to our research, some parents suggest them, and some parents are against buying them.
"Colorblind glasses are made with certain minerals to absorb and filter out some of the wavelengths between green and red that could confuse the brain," explains Ivan Schwab, MD, professor of ophthalmology at the University of California, Davis.
They don't cure color blindness.
Some of the most popular glasses are made by EnChroma and Pilestone. Many of these companies offer a money-back guarantee policy (maybe with some deduction).
If you get a pair, try not to get your child overly excited about it, because they might not work, and it will be a sad and unpleasant experience for your child.
In section 4 of this guide, we shared all you need to know about colorblind glasses.
Can I get colorblind glasses through insurance?
Color Blind Glasses qualify for your flexible spending account (FSA) under ''Eyeglasses or Eye Exams''. However, you will most likely need to submit a reimbursement claim through your health insurance provider.
My child cannot see when the meat is cooked. What is the solution?
Cooking is a very common challenge for people with color vision deficiency.
Food safety experts will tell you that color isn’t the best way to judge when your steak is done. Or your roast, pork chops, turkey, or other meats.
Our advice is to get a meat thermometer and use this chart that shows the right temperature for cooking different meats. For example, cook:
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Chicken breast to 165 F
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Hamburgers to 160 F
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Medium-rare steak to 145 F
In the future, your child can also find a recipe that shows how long exactly you should cook a certain food and use a timer.
My son can't see when the battery is fully charged
One of the daily struggles for red-green colorblind people is the battery charge displayer that simply lights up a RED light when charging, and then a GREEN light when finished. Most of the time, it's not possible for colorblind people to see when the battery is fully charged.
Is it possible that a colorblind person dreams of colors he can't see?
In theory, our brains have the processing power to see all the normal colors. Our eyes just lack the ability to send that signal to the brain. There is no scientific proof of this being able to happen or not.
There are red-green colorblind people (Protan type) that can't see purple, but they saw it in their dream.
What are the common problems related to the sport for colorblind people?
One of the first problems that colorblind people experience related to sport is when they watch sport, depending on the type of their color blindness they might not be able to sort out which player is in which team.
For example for the red-green type of color blindness, if one team wears red uniforms and another team wears brown or green color it can be hard for colorblind people to differentiate them. This problem can affect them while they are playing in a sports team with similar uniforms.
It's possible that lines on the playground grass or on the floor don't have enough contrast to be distinguishable for colorblind children.
When gene therapy would be available for color blindness?
The results of the first human trial testing gene therapy for complete color blindness have been published in the journal JAMA Ophthalmology. The research suggests the experimental gene therapy is safe, and potentially efficacious, opening the door to larger human trials in the future. (not so soon).
Is being a picky Eater common among colorblind people?
Color vision deficiencies can make some foods look unappetizing, creating picky eating habits. For example, peanut butter may take on a green shade. Color vision deficiencies can also make it difficult to determine if certain foods are ripe or fully cooked. Bananas and tomatoes can have drastically different tastes if they are ripe. But some foods simply have strange, unattractive colors for colorblind children.
Can a red-green colorblind person be an artist or designer?
YES, there are so many successful colorblind artists & designers who make amazing artwork. Unlike what you might expect, most of these creative colorblind artists are indeed making colorful artworks, and only a few do black and white.
Art is not about color.
Can a Colorblind Person Drive?
One of the most common questions people ask about color blindness is: can a colorblind person drive? Or how do colorblind people see the traffic light? To answer these questions, let's watch my interview with a young colorblind car racer, Zach Makos
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE LET US KNOW
See From The Eyes Of A COLORBLIND Person
Isn't it so fascinating to see the world from the eyes of a colorblind person?
We got used to seeing bright colors around us, but how would the world look if it was dimmer with only a few colors that can catch your attention?
The ability to distinguish between colors can be crucial when navigating through everyday life. Colorblind people may have difficulties judging traffic lights, reading maps, determining if food has gone bad, and buying clothes and groceries.
YouTube Channel: Colour Blind Vision