Colour blindness
The second, rarer, form is blue-yellow deficiency, which affects the ability to discern blue, green, and yellow.
The rarest form of colour vision deficiency is absolute colour blindness, when an individual sees only shades of grey.
There is no cure for any version of colour blindness, but corrective contact lenses or glasses can help make colour identification easier, though they are unhelpful for blue-yellow deficiency. People can adapt by learning position rather than colour, in traffic lights, for example, or by adjusting contrasts on iPhone or computer screens.
Many years ago, I had in my class of eight-year-olds, a very diligent, painstaking boy. His teachers in the nursery/pre-school class had initially been concerned that all his drawings and colouring were black. They feared that he had significant psychological problems. In fact, he was colour-blind and a much-loved, precious child. He said he wanted to be a pilot or an air traffic controller when he grew up. Obviously, that was not going to be a suitable career path for him.
He was a delightful boy, and I often wondered how his life developed. I really wanted to ask him what colours he could identify in monochrome drawings in books, but resisted the urge. It was not my place to investigate, and it might have distressed him to be questioned, but I have always pondered what version of colour blindness he had.
Ishihara colour plates are used to discern colour vision deficiency. These show numbers or shapes on a dot pattern background. There are more sophisticated versions to identify specifics.
Bear is colour blind and it's had a few impacts. We found out when he coloured his friend's face green when in fact their skin is brown and I got it confirmed at the opticians. He loved Geography at school but didn't take it because of all the colour charts. He threw the support teacher into a hissy fit when she realised that the colour blindness that I'd told her about meant that he couldn't play Uno properly (though I suspect that he played it up for laughs). And now he only wears black because at least he knows what the colour is. There are so many tiny pitfalls. Thank you for your kindness to that boy.
ReplyDeleteIt's difficult for people to understand when something so clear to them is difficult for others. Unthinking remarks can be hurtful.
DeleteWe had less options for enquiring and recognising different symptoms, we did the best we could, unlike now where help can be given to so many. A caring teacher was so important for every child, sadly not all teachers were so thoughtful, hopefully he has fond memories of you.
ReplyDeleteWe know so much more now than we did decades ago. The downside of that is that many people think they can diagnose and label at will.
ReplyDelete3 of my sons were color-weak, the red-blue type. To hear they argue about what color something is was quite funny! My oldest relies on his wife to coordinate his clothes. My second son worked in the White House Communication Agency, where he had to wire fiber optic, which meant many strands of colored wire. He trained himself to be able to "see" those colors, somehow. My fifth son isn't as bad with it as his older brothers, but different struggle in the early grades when instructed to color something a specific color. I identified his issue myself with this dot test, then talked to the school. My father, of course, was the hereditary link.
ReplyDeleteIt can be very difficult for young children, when so much early work uses colour. I would have loved to have heard the 'discussions' between your sons.
ReplyDeleteMy friend adopted a little boy from south america. He colored things in a most interesting way- green sky, orange earth- blue faces...We thought it may have been cultural but turns out the lad had color blindness of some sort. My husband did not realize that he was color blind until he joined the Navy. He was grateful for the uniform- no guess work there.
ReplyDeleteIt is sometimes a surprise when what we 'know' turns out to be otherwise.
DeleteInteresting read, I never thought about how not being able to see colors could limit your choice of careers but it make sense, Wonder what he decided to do.
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose I'll ever know.
DeleteMy dad had the blue green confusion and we learned to translate whose is this green sweater into the actual blue color we could see. I worked with a guy who had wanted to fly in the military, but was knocked out early when he found he had red green blindness. But a friend's son has total color loss, just grayscale. He has to identify signals by position or context. I don't think he attempts electrical work.
ReplyDeleteElectrical work and bomb disposal would be outside his compass!
DeleteI don't know much about it, so I found this very interesting. I had difficulty making out that last image but think I saw a number? We have a family member who is color blind, but they don't talk about it at all.
ReplyDeleteIt's not a subject that often comes up for discussion.
DeleteI have a friend like that, and his hobby is photography. He manages quite well, but he probably just accepts the colours the way that the camera sees them, and that is usually satisfactory.
ReplyDeletePeople adapt and adopt as required.
DeleteI remember those dot tests and am happy to say I am not colourblind, I don't think I know a single person who is. I do feel sorry for those who are and have teachers who think they are just being lazy or naughty. I think these days that is less likely with many teachers knowing of possible problems kids might have.
ReplyDeleteI should hope that teachers are better informed these days.
Delete_Poor vision_ is usually clear to those who suffer from it.
ReplyDeleteHowever it must be difficult for people to know they were _colour blind_ until something suggested they were not looking properly at particular colours. Only a witness would have understoond the issue. Only then, by testing for colour blindness, will the poor innocent become wiser.
Quite. One accepts as normal one's perceptions until they are proved to be mistaken.
DeleteColor blindness can affect lives in so many ways that most of us would take for granted.
ReplyDeleteDangerously so, if not pointed out.
DeleteI can't identify a figure in the second photo, beyond it looks a bit like an 8.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the second one is more difficult to discern - it's a 6, so nearly right, Andrew.
DeleteOf course, the little boy's colour blindness was all he had ever known so he would not have been able to understand that he had a visual deficiency. Once David Blunkett came to talk to one of my classes and one of the children asked him: "Do you know what colours are?" His response perhaps hinted at his understandable ignorance, "Well everybody knows that some colour are bright like yellow and some are dark like red and green and blue". He has been totally blind since birth.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to consider how life appears to those who have never had sight.
DeleteInteresting post.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteMy ex husband is color blind. Someone asked him one time how he knew when a traffic light was red yellow or green. Of course it was because of the order of the lights.
ReplyDeleteI think perhaps people have to work extra hard when one of their senses is deficient.
ReplyDeleteThat must be terrible to be color blind ! My painting teacher told me that I have an excellent view on colors ! (at least that)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if there are any colour-blind artists. I'll have a look.
ReplyDeleteI think those of us who see colors have a hard time understanding color-blindness. I don't doubt that it exists, but it's very hard for me to imagine seeing the world that way.
ReplyDeleteEverything is normal until we discover that it's not.
ReplyDeleteThat young man was fortunate to have you as his teacher. I'm sure you helped him with his confidence and then into his future with the support you gave him.
ReplyDeleteIt was a very informative post about colour blindness. Thank you for sharing.
I was a very mediocre teacher, I'm afraid.
ReplyDelete