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Must Know Things About Color Vision Deficiency

Color blindness (color blindness or CVD) affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women.

Color blindness (color blindness or CVD) affects approximately 1 in 12 men (8%) and 1 in 200 women. In the UK there are around 3 million people who are color blind (approximately 4.5% of the population), the majority of whom are male.

There are an estimated 300 million people worldwide who are color blind, almost as many as the entire US population! There are several causes of color blindness and there are variety of blindness test available.

For most people who are color blind, their condition is genetic and is usually inherited from their mother, although some people become color blind from other conditions such as diabetes and multiple sclerosis, or it can be acquired through age or drug use medication.

There are different types of color blindness and in extremely rare cases people cannot see any color at all, but most color blind people cannot fully "see" red, green or blue light.

The most common forms of color blindness are collectively referred to as "red/green color blindness". Although "red/green color blindness" is a common term, there are different types and degrees of severity.

There is a big myth that people with color blindness

1. they just can't "see" red and green;
2. Just confuse red with green or
3. see red as green and green as red

None of these statements are true!

Being ‘red/green colour blind’ means people with it can easily confuse any colours which have some red or green as part of the whole colour. So someone with red/green colour blindness is likely to confuse blue and purple because they can’t ‘see’ the red element of the colour purple. See the example of pink, purple and blue pen cases above to understand this effect.

For more information about the different colour combinations which cause the most problems, see Types of Colour Blindness.

Problems can arise across the entire colour spectrum potentially affecting perception of all reds, greens, oranges, browns, purples, pinks and greys. Even black can be confused as dark red, dark green or dark blue/purple.

The best way to understand colour blindness is to compare the ‘normal’ and simulated images throughout our website. The effects of colour vision deficiency can be mild, moderate or severe and people with severe forms often think that their condition is mild and doesn’t really affect them. Approximately 40% of colour blind pupils leave school unaware that they are colour blind, 60% of colour blind people are likely to experience problems everyday and yet often not realise the full impact.

Statistically speaking most people with a moderate form of red/green colour blindness will only be able to identify accurately 5 or so coloured pencils from a standard box of 24 pencil crayons (although they may correctly guess more using their sub-conscious coping strategies).

As they rely heavily on coping strategies, colour blind people often think they have correctly identified a colour because it appears to them as the same colour as other things which they know to be a specific colour. However, coping strategies aren’t always reliable. A common surprise for colour blind people is the discovery that peanut butter ISN’T green (it’s brown). Depending upon which type of the condition a colour blind person has, they could see the set of pencil crayons similarly to the following images.

As they rely heavily on coping strategies, colour blind people often think they have correctly identified a colour because it appears to them as the same colour as other things which they know to be a specific colour.

However, coping strategies aren’t always reliable. A common surprise for colour blind people is the discovery that peanut butter ISN’T green (it’s brown). Depending upon which type of the condition a colour blind person has, they could see the set of pencil crayons similarly to the following images.
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Some families always have a tones questions on their mind to identify if their child or other family member facif color blindness issue. Here you can find the answer of this;

Children with colour blindness can face many challenges in their everyday lives. Watch our video below for a little insight into how they might be affected in school.

If you have a son he will have a 1 in 12 chance of being colour blind BUT if colour blindness runs in your (the mother’s) family there is a much higher chance that your boy(s) will be colour blind, especially if their maternal grandfather (mother’s father) is/was colour blind.

If this applies to your family then you should have your children screened for colour vision deficiency as soon as possible. Girls are much less likely to be colour blind (1 in 200 chance) and to inherit red/green colour blindness girls must have a colour blind father.

Most parents of colour blind children don’t know that they have a colour blind child and in most cases the child won’t realise either. This means a positive diagnosis can come as a shock to everyone.

Don’t feel guilty if you suddenly discover your child is colour blind because

1. Colour blind children are very clever at hiding their colour blindness!
2. Even if children have had eye tests with an optometrist don’t assume colour blindness will have been picked up. Colour vision testing is not part of the standard NHS eye test. This means many optometrists don’t bother to test children for colour blindness.
3. Children are no longer screened for colour blindness in primary school either. Sadly, testing has been phased out long ago by most Local Education Authorities, but parents are not usually made aware of this.

A recent study of 1,300 schoolchildren, undertaken by Colour Blind Awareness found that whilst approximately 75% of the pupils had been to an optometrist to have their eyesight tested, only 20% had ever had a colour vision deficiency test. Similar research projects undertaken by UK universities have revealed similar results.

All this means that if you suspect colour blindness in your child (and if they are over 5 years old) there is a reasonably strong chance that they might have a colour vision deficiency, even if they have already had an eye test.

Follow the links in the drop down menu on the left under Parents to find out more about the symptoms of colour blindness, where to get a diagnosis and what to do if your child is found to be colour blind.

If you’ve ever noticed your child’s creations have colours which might not be ‘correct’, like the one on the left, then there’s a reasonable chance they could have colour vision problems.

In the image our young colour blind artist has used both blue and purple to colour the sky blue, without noticing they have used purple. They also intended Boudica’s dress to be brown, but they have used red and green instead, again without realising. Green and yellow for skin colours are also a common mix up. Our Boudica has yellow skin.

Colour blind children can find these mistakes very embarrassing and it can affect their confidence, especially in school. See the Advice sheets above for tips on how to help your child avoid making unintended colour choices in drawings and school work.

However, if you have a younger child (under 5) who seems to be slower at learning colours than you would like – DON’T PANIC!

If your child is still struggling with some colours – especially confusing blues with purples or reds with greens/oranges/browns then it is more likely they might be colour blind.

Why is colour blindness a problem in education?

Colour is used extensively in classrooms and educational resources to provide contrast, create interest, for marking, as a means of classification, to highlight teaching points and to provide a stimulating environment. For the 450,000 or so colour blind children in UK schools today this creates many problems and can hinder their learning, solely because they aren’t able to distinguish accurately between many colours (not just reds and greens – that’s a myth)!

As most teachers have never been given any training in how to identify and support colour blind students, teachers may not be aware that statistically speaking, there will be at least one colour blind child in every (mixed, maintained sector) classroom and the proportion will be much higher in all-boys schools.

Children are no longer screened for colour blindness on school entry and our studies show that approximately 80% of colour blind students are undiagnosed when they enter secondary school (Year 7) despite 75% having had an eye test with an optometrist. We often find undiagnosed colour blind children who wear glasses.

The (former) ATL Union (now NEU) conducted a survey of its Members in 2015 and discovered a huge lack of knowledge amongst teachers. For this reason ATL voted at their Spring Conference 2015 to undertake more research into colour blindness in schools and to provide advice for Members.

Since colour blind children often don’t receive the support they need in the classroom, from an early age and before they even begin to learn to read and write most feel inadequate, some lose confidence and struggle to cope, some are put off school and some become unwilling to learn and can develop into disruptive pupils. Dr John Barry of UCL has published research confirming the negative impact on wellbeing of people with colour blindness.

To compound problems online teaching resources, school textbooks and teaching aids like Numicon, Unifix and are not designed with colour blind students in mind.

Steve Biddulph, the world famous family therapist and author of Raising Boys, The Secret of Happy Children and Raising Girls, has a colour vision deficiency. This is what he told us when we asked him for his thoughts about colour blindness in school.

“When I was little I had problems seeing the blackboard. I just thought it was normal and only found I needed glasses when we went for our medicals to emigrate to Australia. It’s the same with colour blindness – which is almost 20 times more common in boys than girls. It’s really important to diagnose this common disorder and take steps to help children deal with it.”