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Colour-blind children

Tritanomalyisareducedsensitivitytoblue.Therearealsodifferentdegreesofeachoftheseconditions,withsomepeopleperceivingcolouralmostnormally,toanalmosttotalabsenceofperceptionoftheproblemcolour.

Dicromacyoccursinpeoplewhohaveonlytworetinalconesthatareabletoperceivecolour,whichresultsinatotalabsenceofonecolour.Protanopiainvolvesaninabilitytoseered,whilethosewhosufferfromDeuteranopiacanneverseegreen.ThosewithTritanopiawillneverbeabletoperceiveblue.

• Monochromacy:Thisinvolvesseeingnocolourwhatsoever,withtheworldappearingasdifferentshadesofblack,whiteandgrey.

Blueblindnessandmonochromacyareveryrare,butred/greencolourblindnessisquitecommonand,generallyspeaking,peoplewithredorgreencolourblindnesshavedifficultydistinguishingbetweenred,green,brown,orange,yellowandgrey.Allofthesecoloursappeartobevaryingshadesofmurkygreen.Blueandyellowcanbeseen,butshadesofblueandpurpleareconfusedbecauseitcontainsanelementofred.

Why does it matter?Considerhowweinstructchildreninearlyyearssettings.Weaskchildrentopickuptheredbrick.Weencouragetheirabilitytosequenceinadvanceofreadingbyaskingthemtoformcolourfulpatternswithbeadsorothervisualmaterials.

Weusecolourinourdescriptionsofvirtuallyeverything,fromthebigbrowndog,totheprettypinkflowerandthegreendoorthatmarkstheentrancetotheloo.Weaskthemtofillincolouringsheetsinspecificcolours,andsingsongsaboutthecoloursoftherainbow.

Ifchildrenarenot‘getting’apercentageofwhatwearesaying,theyarenotlearningtofullcapacity,andthisisaproblemthatcannotonlyunderminetheirconfidenceatanextremelyimpressionableage,butprovideafaultyfoundationforfuturelearning.

Anditgoesfurther.Manycolour-blindchildrenare,forexample,fussyabouteatinggreenvegetables–largelybecausetheyappearasauniform,unpalatablebrown.Theymaystruggletopasstheballtoateammate,becausethebibstheyarewearingtodifferentiatetheteamslookmuchthesame.Ballsandtoysmaybelostingrassbecausethey

Red, yellow, pink and… what? Karen Sullivan examines how being colour-blind can impact on a child’s education, and why screening before entering nursery can make a big difference to their wellbeing.

OneOftheveryfirstthingsweteachyoungchildrenarethecoloursoftheworldaroundthem.Theylearnthatgrassisgreen,theskyisblueandthose

shinyapplesinthefruitbowlarered.Butwhatifthecolourswedescribe–thecolourswesee–arenotthesameforthechildrenweareteaching?Whatiftheworldaroundthemisamuddleofcoloursthatbearsnoresemblancetotheirreality?

Colour-blindnessmay,formanyofus,havebeenconsideredsomethingofajoke,withbrothers,fathersorhusbandswhoseemincapableofmatchingarticlesofclothingappropriately–orwhohaveatendencytochoosecompletelythewrongcolourofcarpets,paintorjumpers,despiteclearinstructions.

Infact,chancesare,mostofushaveknownsomeonecolour-blind,becausethisconditionaffectsonein12males,andonein200females,tovaryingdegrees.Butcolour-blindnessisnolaughingmatter,particularlyforchildrenwhoseeducationislargelybasedupontheuseofcolourtoteach,highlight,warnandexplain.

What is colour-blindness?Inmostcases,colour-blindnessisageneticcondition,usuallyinheritedfromourmothers(whoprobablyarenotcolour-blindthemselves).Lessfrequently,itcanbeacquiredasaresultoflong-standinghealthproblems,suchasdiabetes,MultipleSclerosis,andliverandeyediseases.

Althoughitisnotentirelyclearwhatgoeswrong,itisbelievedthatfaulty‘cones’intheretina(whichareresponsibleforcolourdiscrimination)areattherootoftheproblem.Thereisnocureandinsomecasespeoplecangothroughtheirwholeliveswithoutknowingthattheyviewtheworldcompletelydifferentlytotheirpeers.Ourabilitytoseecolourischaracterisedasfollows:• Trichromacy:Thisiseffectively‘normal’colour

vision.Trichomatsuseallthreetypesoflightconesintheirretinascorrectly,andperceiveallcoloursastheyshouldbeseen.

• Anomalous trichomacy:Thisoccurswhenoneoftheconesintheretinaisslightlyoutofalignment,sotherearethreepossibleeffects,dependinguponwhichconeisfaulty.forexample:

Protanomalyisareducedsensitivitytored. Deuteranomaly(themostcommontypeofcolour-

blindness)ischaracterisedbyareducedsensitivitytogreen.

Karen Sullivanis a best selling author, psychologist and childcare expert from south east London

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© Lynn Cook

blindnessanditsimpactuponchildreninaneducationalenvironment,butthatchildrenarenotscreenedfortheconditionatschoolentry–itisnotconsideredtobeaspecialeducationalneeddespiteplacingchildrenataseriousdisadvantageinmostelementsoftheireducation,andthereislittleornoprovisiontohelpchildrenwhosimplycannotseeoroperateusingcolour.

‘RosswassevenwhenIrealisedthathemighthaveaproblemwithcolour,’saysKathryn.‘And,evenonceIknewhewascolour-blind,Iwasshockedtofindouthehadasevereconditionthatwouldpreventhimfromseeingsomanycolours.

‘Ifindthistimeofyear[november,atthetimeofwriting]quitehardbecausehehasnoideaaboutautumnleaves,andhecanonlyactuallyseethefireworkdisplaysasmurkygreen,blue,yellowandwhite.Heknowswhatcoloursrainbowsaresupposedtobe,butcanonlyseeblue,yellowandmurkygreen.

‘Hecan’treallymakeoutthedecorationsonaChristmastree.LastyearIcriedwhenIaskedhimwhatcolourfatherChristmaswore,andhesaid,“brown”.Th isyearwehaveatreewithbluelights,soheisabletosharethepleasuresofChristmasdecorations.Headoresit.

‘WhenRosswasatoddler,Itoldhimoffforpickinggreenstrawberries,littleknowingthat,tohim,theyweretheonesthatstoodout.Inowrealisethattheremusthavebeennumerousoccasionslikethisacrosstheyears,whenwethoughthewasbeingsillyordifficultbygettingthingssowrong.

‘Weareluckythathekeptwantingtopleaseusanddidn’tjustgiveup.Howonearthhefooledusintobelievinghecouldseehiscolours,I’llneverknow.Itmusthaveinvolvedahugeamountofeffortonhispartnottolookstupidatnursery.’

KathrynexplainsthatRossoftenbecomesembarrassedorangryifsomeoneaskshimtodescribethecolourofsomething.Shehasnoticedthatifheisdiscussingthingslikethemakesof‘supercars’withhisfriends,hedoesnotcontributewhentheytalkaboutcolours.ButthatisnottosaythattheAlbany-Wardfamilydoesnotusecolourasavehiclefordescription–infact,quitetheopposite.Kathrynexplainsthatitisimportanttousecolourdescriptively,toenableRosstoworkoutthesaturationandbrightnessofcolours,whichhelpshimtomarrywhattheysaywithwhatheactuallysees.

Th eyarecarefultoprovidemoredetaileddescriptions,however.forexample,the‘redAudi’ratherthanthe‘redcar’.Th eyhavealsotakenstepstohelphimchooseandusecolourscorrectlyatschool.

‘Rossisfanaticalaboutusingthecorrectcoloursforhisdrawingsandsoon,aresultofbeingembarrassedsomanytimeswhenhewasyounger,sohehashisownsetsofpaintsandcrayons,andsoon,allmarkedwiththeiractualcolourname.

‘HisschoolhasgoneoutofitswaytonameallthecolouredpaintsandpencilsintheartandDTrooms,sonowheisconfidentabouthisuseofcoloursthere.

cannotbepickedout.Childrenmaystruggletodressthemselvesbecausetheyareunabletomatchsocksorpickouttheirownclothingfromacolourfulpilediscardedafterplaytime.

Bookshighlighting‘familiar’keywordsandsoundsarelargelyuselesstocolour-blindchildren,asarethosethatusecolour-on-colourprinting,whichisalmostimpossibleformanycolour-blindchildrentoread.

Manychildrenfeelembarrassedaboutnotbeingabletochoosetheappropriatecrayonorcolourofpaint,ortoaccuratelydescribethingsaroundthem.Th eymaybeslowertofollowinstructions,becausethoserelatingtocolourmaymakeverylittlesense.Indeed,theymayseem‘slow’or‘hesitant’inmanysituations,becausetheycanandwillbeperplexedbytheneedtomakechoicesbasedonsomethingtheysimplycannotsee.

‘It breaks my heart’KathrynAlbany-WardhassetupColourBlindAwareness,acommunityinterestproject,toraiseawarenessoftheneedsofcolour-blindindividualsinthecommunity.Hereffortsstemfromthediagnosisofcolour-blindnessinherseven-year-oldson,whosuffersfromthesevereformofdeuteranopia(seeopposite).

Kathrynwasshockedtolearnthatnotonlydothemajorityofteachershavenotrainingincolour-

The photo above represents deuteranopia, which is a total inability to perceive green

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finally,takecaretoensurethatnochildisteasedorbulliedforusingincorrectcolours,anddealwithself-esteemissuesimmediately.

What about the future?Colour-blindnessisanunder-recognisedandlittleunderstoodcondition,butawarenessisgrowing.Kathryn’sworkhassuccessfullybroughttheissuestotheattentionofanumberofschools,whoaretakingstepstoscreenchildrenandadaptthecurriculumandteachingmaterialstotheirneeds.

TheissueisbeingstronglysupportedbyTheSpeakeroftheHouseofCommonsJohnBercowMPandalsobeenbroughttothepersonalattentionoftheeducationSecretaryMichaelGoveMP,andSarahTeatherMP,MinisterofStateresponsibleforSen.

SarahTeatherrecentlyconfirmed:‘Whilecolour-blindnessisnotitselfregardedasaspecialeducationalneed,Iwouldexpectschoolstomakeeveryefforttoensurethatsuchchildrenarenotdisadvantagedandthatstaffarealerttosomechildrenhavingdifficultydifferentiatingcertaincolourssotheycanfindtheirwayroundanyproblems.’

ItisperplexingthatthisconditionisnotconsideredanSen,becauseithasaclearimpactuponachild’sabilitytolearn,butColourBlindAwarenessistakingstepstorectifythissituation,andwillrelyuponthesupportofparents,teachers,carersandnurseryworkerswithexperienceoftheissues.ItisalsogratifyingtohearthatColourBlindAwarenessisstartingtowork–afewenlightenedboardgamemanufacturersandtextbookpublishersareensuringthattheirproductsaresuitableforchildrenwiththecondition.

Inthemeantime,however,itisworthtakingonboardtheguidelinessuggested,toensurethatanychildreninyourcaremakethemostoftheopportunitiesavailabletothem.eveniftheycannotseewhatweareseeing,theycanunderstandtheirworldalittlebetterifwehelpthemtomakesenseofthecoloursthatdefineit. eye

Key pointsl The average UK co-educational school classroom will be host to at least one

colour-blind childl In an average box of 24 coloured pencils, a child who has the most common form

of colour-blindness will be able to accurately name only four colours, although they will probably be able to guess more

l As colour-blind children are not currently supported in the classroom, from an early age and before they begin to learn to read and write, most feel inadequate, some lose confidence and struggle to cope, some are put off school and some become unwilling to learn and develop into disruptive pupils

l Most colour-blind children are unaware of their condition, many only realise they are colour-blind at secondary school. Many do not admit it

l Because a greater number of boys suffer, they are disadvantaged and lag behind girls in many subjects, including maths, science, geography, reading, sport, food technology and in any lessons where teaching uses colour as a talking point

’

‘Hehasrecentlyidentified“mahogany”,purelybyshadeandbrightness,andheisveryproudofthis.’

Kathrynexplainsthatmanychildrendonotadmittostrugglingwithcolours,eveniftheydoknowthattheyaresomehowdifferentfromtheirpeers.Theywouldratherattempttojoininthandrawattentiontothemselves.Thiscan,however,leadtofrustrationandevenanger,whenthemeasuresdesignedtosupportlearningactuallyundermineit.

So what can you do?firstofall,considerscreeningchildrenastheyenteryournursery.Alocalopticianmaybeabletoarrangethis,ascanthevisualimpairmentteaminyourlocalauthority.Alternatively,contactKathrynAlbany-Wardatwww.colourblindawareness.org,fordetailsofonlinetestingandotherformsofassessment.Knowingwhichchildrenarecolour-blind(andchancesarethattherewillbeatleastoneineveryyeargroup),canhelpyoutomakeappropriateprovisionfortheireducation.

Takecareoflighting.Brightlightcanmakeiteasierforchildrentorecognizecolour.Colour-blindchildrenshouldbeseatedingoodnaturallight.

Taketimetogroupandlabelthingslikebeads,bricksandcolouringmaterialaccordingtocolour.Littleoneswillobviouslyfinditdifficulttoreadlabelsusingwords,butyoucouldfindacreativealternative.forexample,theredbeadscouldbelabelledwithaphotographofanapple;thegreenoneswithleaves.

Mostyoungchildrenlearnthecoloursofthings,eveniftheydonotknowwhattheyare,andcanconfidentlytellyouthattheskyisblue,eveniftheycannotseeit.Therefore,givingthemcluescanhelpthemtomakethecorrectassociationsandlearntouseandchoosecoloursappropriately.

Avoidusingcolour-on-colourbooksandothersupportmaterials.Blackonwhitewillbemostappropriateforcolour-blindchildren.Insportsandgames(includingboardgames),ensurethatchildrencanseewhoisonhisorher‘team’,andthattheycanseetheballorthe‘men’ontheboard.

Checkingcomputersettings,webpagesandcomputer-basedteachingaidstoensurethatthechildcanpickouttherelevantinformation.Colour-blindchildrenmaystrugglewithcoloured‘keys’thatprovideinstructionsandinformation.Usestrongcontrastonwhiteorchalkboards;red,greenorpastelcoloursshouldnotbeusedtohighlightteachingpoints.

encouragechildrentohelpeachotherchoosecolourswhendrawing,paintingorcolouring,andtoreinforcetheirusebyusingthecorrectname.Manycolour-blindchildrenwilleventuallymemorisetheircoloursthroughrepeatedexperienceoftheiruse.

Thinkabouthowyoucolour-codeboxesoftoys,artmaterialsandbooks.Ifyouareteachingreading,usesymbolsratherthan‘colours’fordifferentlevelsofbooks,orclearlyexplaintochildrenwhichboxistheirs.Talktoparentsabouthowtheycansupporttheirchildrenathome,anddirectthemtotheColourBlindAwarenesswebsiteforhelp.

It is perplexing that this condition is not considered an SEN, because it has a clear impact upon a child’s ability to learn

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