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"This is a green crayon, and that's a red one," said six-year old Joey Knight. "That's easy!" Because
of his severe defect in color vision, Joey learned to read the crayon name on the wrappers.
Joey is far from alone in his color confusions. One out of 12 males has some degree -- either mild, medium or severe --
of inherited color vision deficiency (CVD) or colorblindness, as do one in 200 females. Joey is one of the approximate two
in 100 males (and rare females) with a severe deficiency. He cannot tell red from green, but he does see blue and yellow,
so he is not "blind" to color.
Children who are mildly affected may have difficulty only with matching pastel shades. Moderately affected children often
confuse red and green with other colors, like tan and gray. Those who see red faintly confuse blue and purple because they
don't see the red in purple.
Pre-school and early elementary books are colored intensely enough that most children -- even those with CVD -- can tell
colors apart. However, teaching techniques may have to be adapted to the child's need. For instance, labeling paints with
a bear for brown or a tree for green, or teaching children to identify the first letter of color names. Some children may
not be able to follow directions like, "put a green X in the brown circle," because green and brown look the same
or very similar. A teacher or parent might believe a child is not paying attention when he doesn't respond as directed. Also,
when children confuse colors, they've been suspected of having language problems, as if they don't understand the concept
of color.
Children with CVD may resist playing with puzzles that are based as much on color as on shape. They may not enjoy colorful
games or be enthralled with crayons. They may not see optical illusions that are easy for other children to spot. Yet, these
children enjoy a variety of art activities, especially hands-on activities.
In upper grades, students with CVD may have to deal with a range of problems like finding countries on colored maps, working
with colorful websites and detecting shades of colors in the chemistry lab.
People with CVD often hide their disorder instead of asking for help when they need it. Parents and teaches need to be
attuned to feelings.
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