Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Education

Join the discussion on our Education forum.

Original poster

If you have a boy you should know this (but probably have no idea)

61 replies

colourcaremum · 04/10/2010 13:45

When I found out my 7 year old son thought Father Christmas wears a brown suit I was quite tearful. Now I know yours might think the same thing too and you probably don't realise it.

Did you know that your boy has a 1 in 12 chance (8%) of being colour blind BUT he won't have been tested for it in school (they haven't been able to afford testing for years)? His teachers are very unlikely to know anything about helping him (because they aren't trained in supporting colour blind kids). So YOU, his parent, are therefore the only one responsible for getting him tested, telling the school about it, checking he can see all the information in his textbooks and making sure he gets the help he needs for GCSE's, A levels etc. and of course, making life easier for him at home. Even your boy's nursery won't have a clue -just think how demoralising it can be to be colour blind in a nursery or primary school! To see how your son's world might appear have a look at www.colourblindawareness.org and please make sure you check out your boy as soon as you can.

I would love to hear from anyone who has experiences to share about the problems of being colour blind, especially in school. Girls have a 1 in 200 chance so don't forget to have your daughters tested too!

OP posts:
SparklyJules · 04/10/2010 13:49

Colourcaremum... I'm almost too scared to look at that link. I've been telling DH for months that I think our son might be colour blind. He's nearly 3 but can't recognise colours at all, he has no clue. I know this is young, but most kids can recognise simple primary colours at this age and he just can't do it.

It doesn't seem to bother him, he laughs when I try to "teach" him colours and just shouts out any old colour "blue! green!" then gets tired of me.

I'll have to take a deep breath and look into it.

I'm sorry about your son and that you are feeling sad, thank you for the awareness.

x

pippop1 · 04/10/2010 14:00

Both my boys have colour vision problems. We first found out when we went to a children's museum and there was one of those dotty pictures on the wall. It said if you could see number 21 (or some such) you had normal vision and if you could see a different number you had colour vision problems.

I was shocked to find my son saw the alternative number. However, it made sense of a few things he had said (about his bedroom carpet and clothing colours. I had he and his brother tested at an opticians (its v simple) and they both had defective colour vision. There are degrees though and neither of them are too bad but one is worse than the other. They sometimes ask me if different clothes go with each other, but luckily jeans go with everything! My older one chose civil rather than electrical engineering (didn't want to blow anyone up) and the younger one used to say he wanted to be a pilot (impossible) but now doesn't. Otherwise no real problems.

melrose · 04/10/2010 14:03

SparkleyJules
We have the same issue with DS2, he knows yellow but nothing else. If asked he will look at me and say "red?" or "Don't know", have been thinking for a few weeeks that i need to get something doen about it

Pippop how old were your boys when they were tested?

DollyTwat · 04/10/2010 14:06

There is an app on the iphone with lots of different tests. Quite detailed too

thisisyesterday · 04/10/2010 14:08

sparkljules... that is common!
don't get worried yet,
my almost 3 year old has only just "clicked" with colours, and even then he doesn't know all of them and gets them muddled sometimes

i think at 3 it's too early to tell. i read something about this once but i can't remmeber what...

good to be aware of colour blindness tho!

Niecie · 04/10/2010 14:09

Sorry to hear about your DS Colourcaremum - it must have been a shock. Thank you for the link and the reminder. DS1 who is 10 was tested at school but he has had eye tests anyway since then. It should also be noted it is a good idea for children to have a proper eye test from the age of 5. A lot of people don't bother but that is what our optician advised.

I shall also show DH the website. He is supposed to be colour blind as well but he knows that FC suit is red. Maybe because whatever it is that he does perceive has always been labelled red even if the rest of us would call what he sees brown iyswim. Hard to imagine what somebody else's eyesight is like, isn't it?!

SparklyJules - My DS2 didn't learn his colours for ages, probably until he was 4 maybe even later. He just wasn't interested. He isn't colour blind though - he has been tested at the opticians as part of the normal eye test. It was a bit of a concern since DS1 was pointing to colours when I asked him at about 18 months, long before he could say the words but it was just DS2 being different!

thisisyesterday · 04/10/2010 14:10

meant to say, my eldest son was the smae, but has perfect vision!

geogteach · 04/10/2010 14:21

DH found out he was colour blind at medical school so it doesn't seem to have held him back!

Apart from endless disagreements about stuff like clothes and decorating I don't think it is a massive deal.

Original poster
colourcaremum · 04/10/2010 14:31

Dear all thanks for your interest.

Am VERY concerned that some people don't think this is a big deal. For some colour blind kids it is a really big deal and for others not, it depends entirely on the exact condition they have. Please look at the link and read about schools in particular, before making up your mind about this, especially teachers!! There are degrees of colour blindness ranging from almost normal to no red, or green or blue sight so what is not a problem for one child can be a massive issue to another.

My main concern is to get parents to go and find out about their own children and if there is an issue to support them. There is a website www.colourmed.com which has put me off ever going to a colour blind doctor, especially a surgeon!!! No good having a colour blind GP who can't spot an ear infection (because it is red! - yes that does happen!!).

OP posts:
Journey · 04/10/2010 14:33

I got my DS tested for colour blindness. The nursery and ourselves picked it up with reds and greens. My DS went along for the test and they concluded that they thought he did have colour blindness. He was nearly 5 at the time. Roll on a year and we (as parents and teacher) now think he isn't colour blind. At the hospital we got told that they couldn't confirm colour blindness until a child was 8 years old. (Pretty sure that this was the age they said). We'll probably arrange another test when he is a bit older to confirm whether he is or isn't!

Curiousmama · 04/10/2010 14:36

Dp is colour blind and even as an adult it's so sad. Just things he says like ' is that pink?' or red or whatever Sad What's worse is he always dreamed of being a pilot and can't.

Thanks for the link. My dss have both been to opticians so I know (?) they shouldn't be? Dp isn't their dad and exdh isn't colour blind nor was his dad (RAF pilot) so don't think boys will be? Although not sure if it can be genetic?

Also didn't realise girls were 1 in 200! I'll pass this on.

readinginsteadnow · 04/10/2010 14:36

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Curiousmama · 04/10/2010 14:38

colourblindawareness.org see if that works as a link?

Original poster
colourcaremum · 04/10/2010 14:41

Girls, just so that you know, if you have a colour blind boy then you are the genetic carier, so it has come from your family - you will probably find you have CB uncles, grandad or similar. Girls get colour blindness from their mum and dad if the dad is colour blind (so it is much rarer in girls). You might not know you are a carrier then end up with a colour blind grandchild one day, as happened to my mum (see the link to see how it is passed on).

OP posts:
Niecie · 04/10/2010 14:42

curiousmama - colourblindness comes down the mother's line. I queried this as DH is colour blind but apparently my boys won't be because there isn't any colour blindness in my family.

PlumBumMum · 04/10/2010 14:43

I was taught that girls couldn't be colourblind as it inherited from a gene on the Y chromosome

will read link later

realitychick · 04/10/2010 14:53

It is a shock but it doesn't have to hold them back in life.

My son had eye trouble and in the course of general tests they picked up on mild pastel colour blindness (Can't tell difference between pale mint green and peach which OH says is an advantage in life!) As it hasn't seemed to hold him back we've ignored it pretty much but will have a read of all the advice. Thanks for the link.

Hulababy · 04/10/2010 14:53

Is it true that it is generally hereditary, and somehow linked to a woman's father? I think I read that if you are female and your father is colour blind then you may well find your son is also colour blind.

Both my father and DH's father are colourblind; also a good friend of ours is colour blind too. Fortunately they are not too badly affected.

NotQuiteCockney · 04/10/2010 14:56

Girls can be colourblind, but they have to have inherited it from both sides.

My two DSes are colourblind - I knew they were at risk (50% chance, as my father is colourblind) so it's not been much of a shock. They don't mind much. Their school are ok about it, they keep track of things the boys struggle with.

CloudsAway · 04/10/2010 14:58

It's a fault in a gene on the X chromosome. Boys only get one X (from their mums), so if it has the faulty gene, they will be colour-blind. Girls get one X from each parent, so if only one is faulty, then the other one can make the correct proteins and they will have essentially normal colour vision (though possibly not in very specialsed tests). They will be a carrier in that case, and could pass the faulty X on to their sons (who would be affected) or their daughters (who would be carriers, not affected, unless they also got a faulty X from their dads). Colour blind fathers will not pass it to their sons, but their daughters will be carriers.

(as always, real genetics are more complicated, but that's the straightforward version).

NotQuiteCockney · 04/10/2010 14:58

YY Hulababy, if you are a woman and your father is colourblind, then you are guaranteed to be a carrier, and any boy you have has a 50% chance of being colourblind.

Of course, any girl you have has a 50% chance of being a carrier for colourblindness. Unless your partner is also colourblind, in which case she has a 50% chance of being colourblind.

fearoffalling · 04/10/2010 15:07

Wow, this is a bit OTT.

I'm an optometrist and yes girls can be colour blind although it is rare.As Hulababy says maternal grandfather being colour blind would increase your child's risk.
Most children are not actually colour blind but colour defective on a scale of how badly affected.

In theory it will only affect them in in certain jobs and in reality I have tested lots of say colour blind electricians.I've never met an adult who said it has had any real impact on their life.

Every child is entitled to an NHS eye test which would include a test for colour blindness.

Ladymuck · 04/10/2010 15:12

What I don't understand is how anyone would have a child and not get this picked up at an eye test? I know that both of my sons have been checked. Is it just a concern for the very young in terms of getting tested?

Original poster
colourcaremum · 04/10/2010 15:15

SparklyJules, I can tell you really need to have an answer!

If you are really worried (although it is quite early to be too concerned with a 3 yr old), there are special tests devised for small children who can't yet read numbers. The special tests get the child to look for pictures of say , a boat , or a dog or similar things which young children can understand. The pictures are made of carefully chosen colours against a background of another colour and depending upon whether or not the child can see the pictures the optician can work out if the child is colour blind.

You should be able to get the test done at any optician but look out! Some charge you for tests for colour blindness and some will do an eye test for free but not include a colour blindness test unless you specifically ask for it.

Good luck! It won't be the end of the world if he is colour blind (my DS is severely colour blind - he can only see blue and yellow - but is quite happy in himself). However, there is no way I am going to let him be disadvantaged in school and will be going out of my way to make sure he gets all of the help he needs

OP posts:
Bigmouthstrikesagain · 04/10/2010 15:16

My dad was colourblind - I don't think ds is but I am aware of it being a possibility I did a test from a website for him when he was very young (3 I think) and he seemed ok - people should be tested but it need not be the end of the world.