10 replies to this topic

[Rea]

Imagine this.. A child is seen for her 3 year check and the GP is concerned because she wont name the colours, he asks to see her again about a year later. One year on Child still wont name the colours, in particular yellow, green and blue, but mom and we, are happy that she knows them, she'll bring objects of a particular colour and group them. Mom says Gp is very concerned that she still doesnt name them and seriously thinks she could be colour blind. Is this GP mad or am I totally missing something? Mom could do with some reasurance.

[ASPK]

If she is able to group by colour then your child must be distinguishing the colours, by my reckoning this means she cannot be colour blind! I have two 5 year olds who also cannot name their colours, even though they can tell them apart. I'm not worrying about it, just taking opportunities to remind them as and when...

[Linda McDowell]

The most common form of colour blindness is between the colours red and green. Having just done a google search most of the sites say that colour blindness between yellow and blue is very rare. Colour blindness is also more common in boys than girls.
I have found that many of my 3 year olds that we observed recently can find a colour but not necessarily name it. I would reassure your mum that there is not a problem.
Linda

[Mimi]

It is however possible to sort colours by their tonal quality, the doctor can give a simple test for colour blindness but they don't usually do this before 7yrs in our area but having sewn the seed of doubt I think the Doctor should settle the question once and for all.

[bubblejack]

I don't think it is at all unusual for a three year old not to name their their colours. I have had many children like this but I know that it will come naturally to most children. Why was the doctor checking the child for this anyway I would have thought the H.V. would normally do these checks?

[Sue J]

My youngest son, now 27, is colour blind and like you say mimi he sorted colours by their tonal qualities.
He said they all looked the same colour but different shades.

Sue J

[Rea]

Thanks, I have no idea why it's the GP and not the HV. Will be able to speak to mom tomorrow. :D
Is 7 an age when most authorities would test or does it vary?

[bubblejack]

I have seen cards for the Ishihara colour test. They consist of numbers blended into colours but their is another one called The Creamer Test where children have to identify a star and a circle. I think I put a search into google to find it when I had my suspicions about a child.

[Rea]

Thanks you for that . When internet is behaving i will try tht bubbklejack :D

[Mimi]

Here is a link for you - try thishere

[Susan]

There used to be a school of thought that colour vision was not established until a child reached 5. Colour vision is not routinely tested until 7 but even this had probably gone by the board!
My son is red/ green colour blind and has difficulty discerning colour tones of these hues, paler shades he sees as white and darker shades as grey. We discovered this at about 5 when he asked us why we had painted the living room walls white---they were pale pink!
Children often have difficulty naming colours!