who to go to re. colour vision deficiency in 4yo?

[MummyPig]

My ds1 has just started in reception and in the last couple of weeks I have realised he has a colour vision deficiency. To him, dark green looks like red, and turquoise looks like blue. He also uses 'grey' to describe many other colours, and I don't think it's through lack of vocabulary. I've read up about it, but mostly on US websites like this one . I've also mentioned it to his teacher. But I don't want him to be dismissed as 'difficult' or 'slow' at this early stage just because he could find it hard to distinguish colours in books etc., and might not have the confidence to explain why to the adults around him. (He doesn't mind challenging me but he's more reticent with other adults!)
I think I should take him for a test to confirm it - but who should I speak to first? I'm inclined to just take him into a local optician but this NHS webpage seems to imply that (a) he will get a test at school sometime this year and (b) that since he is under 5 I should talk to the GP, HV or school nurse first. I have experience with my GPs dismissing me as an overanxious parent so I don't really want to go to them. The HV is okay but I can imagine she will say it's not her area of expertise. I have no idea what the school nurse is like.

Oh, you can test online. My DS1 is colourblind, but I've not bothered going to the GP or whatever, I knew he had a 50% chance, tested online, he is colourblind. There's nothing you can do other than acknowledge it, really. Do you have colour-blindness in the family?

Why did ds have a 50% chance of being colour blind, NQC? Is dh colour blind?

Here is the test we used.

Oh, you already linked to that site. Did you try their test?

If I were you I would talk to the health visitor about gettinghim properly checked out

There are diferent types of colour blindness and to know exactly what he has trouble with will enable you to help him as much as possible

my dad is red/green colour blind but to such an extent that he has almost no colour in his life

noone diagnosed him when young and he suffered quite alot because of that
Please take him to a professional so you can get all the info you need to support him

No, no, it's carried on the mother's line. DH isn't colour-blind (his dad is, but that has no affect on us).

Ok, um.

Basically, to be colourblind, all your Xs have to have the colourblind gene on them. As my father is colour-blind, I know one of my Xs has the colourblind gene on it. My DSes have their single X from me. So they each have a 50% chance of being colourblind, depending on which X they got.

effect. Not affect.

I probably should take him to the HV or GP, but I don't quite see the point. My dad's colourblindness is relatively mild, DS1 still definately sees colours. I've told his school he's colourblind, so they're expecting it.

Good explanation, NQC

I even understood it as well

I know I'm not colour blind yet still I took that test .. and another one after it

why did I do that?

My dh is green/red colorblind and found it hard as a child. However since his father was (coincidentally) also colorblind, at least the family were aware of it as a condition. I think that the most important thing is to let his teachers know. Don't forget that if he can't see green or red (he sees them as gray), then he won't see those color within others. So purple will appear blue to him.

Oh, ran into an optician friend at the park today, who works in our local hospital. She said there was nothing they could do re: colourblindness, and no associated problems. (But she did recommend that my DSes see an optician regularly as I'm quite severely short-sighted, and we might use the colourblindness as an excuse to do that at the hospital rather than on the high street.)

Back home, in Canada, the high street opticians are nothing like opticians here (in Canada, you never find opticians in hospitals! Only opthalmologists!). Because I have complicated eye issues, personally (am about a -6.5 or something, am future diabetic, and likely candidate for retinal detachment), I am twitchy about eye tests and safety. (Of course, ha ha, I've not had my eyes looked at for three years, so really, I suck.)

I know that high street opticians are fine in this country, I know they're actually qualified and stuff, but I'm just not really comfortable with them.

Do kids get free eye tests on the high street?

MummyPig, I'm an optometrist and it's perfectly routine for us to carry colour vision checks on children. There are now special coloured filters (Chromagen) to enable people with colour defects to distinguish colours more easily. Not all opticians supply these lenses but tbh its not usually regarded as a "problem" that needs correction unless your ds wants to pursue a career i.e airline pilot/electronic engineer) which requires good colour vision. Usually just alerting the teachers is enough. Do get it checked but I remember my own ds called purple black for a long time and he is quite smart and has normal colour vision!

An opthalmologist is a doctor who specialises in eyes.
In the UK and Ireland most people refer to optometrists as opticians. I do it myself because it's easier than explaining what you do over and over again, but an optician can also mean a dispensing optician who doesn't carry out eye examinations but dispenses spectacles.
Shall I talk about orthoptists now or are you all bored enough?