Colour blind DS

[ConcernedCBMum]

We found out last week that 6 year old DS is colourblind. The optician said it was nothing to worry about. There are a few things that make sense to us though. DS amhas always struggled doing puzzles (I think he struggles with the colours) and he takes ages to find Lego pieces when doing a set (I think he can't use colours to find them).

I'm not overly concerned but was wondering if you have a colour blind child are there any activities where you notice it? I'm feeling dreadful as I previously told DS to 'match the colours' when doing a puzzle which he genuinely couldn't do!

What colours is your DS Unable to distinguish?
Maybe you should hold that in mind when choosing toys etc. Some colours will “merge” it he should see the difference in depth of hue. A friend who is red/green blind can’t easily see red blossom from a distance as it all merges together.
Perhaps read up on the condition and the best approach to take. For instance your DS will be unable to train for some professions where this ability is needed and he will need to be gently discouraged from setting his heart on these occupations.
His teacher needs to know but should be asked not to make a “thing” of it in the classroom that would emphasise it as a disability— it is a very minor part of his make up.
Good luck

I work and teach in a field where it becomes obvious if someone is colourblind, but doesn't mean they can't work in the field. It's usually a matter of tiny adjustments to make life easier, but a sense of humour about it is also helpful for the occasional moment when it leads to odd results. (A colleague once gave himself a very short haircut because the blades on his new clippers were colour-coded, and he confused blue and purple, for example. A different colleague had a draft report with some plots with the colour scale reversed from the industry standard. Both easily fixed, but easier with the one who wasn't inclined to argue that blue was in fact purple.)

Definitely find out what colours your DS struggles with in practice, so you can tailor any adjustments (different colour pens on the whiteboard is a common one). 'Red-green' colourblindness can mean a person also struggles with brown versus green or red versus black, for example.

Colouring pencils or pens with the names of the colours printed on are very helpful if at some point he has schoolwork that is supposed to be done in certain colours, or is sensitive about making 'wrong' choices when drawing. When he's a bit older, it's also worth learning how to use a phone/tablet/computer to look up what colour something is.