Supporting colour blind children

[Guest]

Hello All,

 

We have recently found out that a child (aged 4) at our setting is colour blind.

 

I would really love to find out about of any activities, support techniques or resources that any of you have used.

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Vicki

[blondie]

not come across this but try

 

colurblindawareness.org

 

lots of info and ideas on there

[Guest]

Hello

 

Thank you, I have already look through this website. Although it gives good information about different types of colour blindness and tells you about peoples struggles with everyday tasks, I didn't feel it gave any resource idea's or activities that would support a 4 year old.

 

Vicki

[apple]

Have you access to a sensory support team?

[Guest]

Hello

 

Yes we do however, shockingly colour blindness is not classed as a special need therefore they can not support us.

[finleysmaid]

Can i ask what you want to achieve? and do you know what sort of colour blindness you are dealing with?

[sunnyday]

Really interested in how and by whom the diagnosis was made?

[Guest]

Hi Finleysmaid, do you mean what am I hoping to achieve by gaining more knowledge and idea's of resources for the child? If so, we want to achieve a better understanding of how to support him and ensure his kuw and sc is developing well. The research I have done so far is that there is a real lack of support for this and after reading articles written by colour blind people they have a really daily struggle with every day tasks.

 

We want to be able to support and prepare him for the completion of tasks i.e. in a classroom the teacher says 'go and put your coats in the red area then sit on a orange square' etc. We want to build his confidence of being able to say I cant see that or know ways in how he could tell colours a part.

 

Hi Sunnyday, The diagnoses was made by an Optician and then further tests done at the eye hospital. There is a high chance his younger brother has it too but he is too young to complete the tests (although he often asks for a green bike, we have yellow and red bikes).

[finleysmaid]

knowing what sort of colour blindness he has will be useful as there may be lots of colours he has no issue with .My next door neighbour was red/green colour blind. He was able to drive etc as lights are positional so not an issue. The only difficulties it gave him was when choosing colours for his home...his daughters came in useful at this point!! He saw red/green as being sludgy brown and variations of this. He would not have been able to tell which shade was which colour.

The reason I ask about what you want to achieve is that colour is only a very small part of our learning and you are probably not going to be able to get him to discern what each shade is. He will not see this as a disability unless he is told it is...for him it is normal I'm not truly sure there is anything you can do for him except to ensure that others do not pay attention to it or discriminate against him for it

 

only my opinion of course

[louby loo]

knowing what sort of colour blindness he has will be useful as there may be lots of colours he has no issue with .My next door neighbour was red/green colour blind. He was able to drive etc as lights are positional so not an issue. The only difficulties it gave him was when choosing colours for his home...his daughters came in useful at this point!! He saw red/green as being sludgy brown and variations of this. He would not have been able to tell which shade was which colour.

 

 

I have one of these at home!!!! He once almost cost us £130 many, many, many years ago when we had to call BT out about a fault on our phone line.

 

As it turned out the phone engineer could see the funny side of the 'problem' - after a heated discussion with me saying my husband 'was not stupid and could easily follow the very clear instructions for wiring in a phone' ........ the engine diagnosed my husband was colour blind (and let us of the call out/repair fees :1b )

He was then formally diagnosed as colour blind, but it has never really affected him other than being told he could not become an electrician.

 

We do have interesting debates when decorating though. It was not until a few years ago when decorating I never actually realised that he had always thought our pale greenish carpet was 'sludge coloured', and he could not see any difference colour-wise to the new carpet choice which was a light natural colour.

 

Interestingly he has always maintained he wanted a bright red carpet - maybe I should have let him choose the 'red' and see what it actually was like rather than an a 'out n out' NO WAY!!

 

 

vicki30 - sorry to derail your post, but I suppose I'm just adding that really it can be just a small part of learning as finelysmaid said.

 

xx

[Panders]

Just to add a little something to this debate - not at all of any use I might add, but. My eldest son was diagnosed as colour blind by a very respect optician - red/green and we believed this to be true, although in terms of family anecdotal evidence we had none. He had had a passion to be an Air Traffic Controller from a very young age and was not to be deterred about the red/green thing, no matter what we said. Zip on to when he was 19, he went off for an interview with NATS which was successful in one part - he was not colour blind - however, his maths let him down.

 

At this point, he finally confessed that at a very tender age he had fibbed to the optician when doing her tests!

[sunnyday]

 

 

At this point, he finally confessed that at a very tender age he had fibbed to the optician when doing her tests!

No - cheeky boy :lol: :lol: :lol:

[sunnyday]

 

 

Hi Sunnyday, The diagnoses was made by an Optician and then further tests done at the eye hospital. There is a high chance his younger brother has it too but he is too young to complete the tests (although he often asks for a green bike, we have yellow and red bikes).

Thanks Vicki - I was really interested in how he got such an early diagnosis :1b

 

I can understand why you want to help him - wish I had some brilliant ideas.......

[Cait]

I've read somewhere recently about some sunglasses-type of things that correct colour blindness. Wish I could remember where, but I think they are quite a new thing.

[Mouseketeer]

Really interested in how and by whom the diagnosis was made?

I was also wondering how at a young age it is confirmed as being colour blind rather than just not knowing their colours yet.