Color Blindness In Children

Many parents are unaware that all children are color blind when born. But it's true -- humans do not get the ability to see in color until about four months of age. As vertebrates go, humans are one of the few species who can actually see in color. The actual testing for color blindness does not occur until a child is nearing kindergarten age. Before learning more about this condition, it is important to learn how the eye develops and functions. First, let's examine how color is seen.

Color is seen when light hits rods and cones which are tightly packed in the back of your eye. These nerve cells fire impulses that go down the optic nerve to the brain's visual center. While the rods are responsible for seeing in black and white, the cones are responsible for seeing in color. Cones are either red, blue or green. These three colors of cones cause you to see all the colors around you. Every color in the universe is a variation of one or more of these three colors.

Kindergarteners learn the primary colors of red, yellow and blue, and also learn that when primary colored paints are blended they make different colors. When pigments are added together it causes fewer light wavelengths to be reflected to the eye. When all the colors are mixed black is the result. Even television technology is based on the three colors of cones in our eyes, as projection TVs use projectors that are red, green and blue. The cones lining the retina number in the millions and are supported by a network of other cells called bipolar, amacrine and horizontal cells.

The most common form of color blindness in children and adults is red-green color blindness. This condition affects one out of every 25 individuals and means either the red cones or the green cones are missing. This means they cannot tell green from red but can see other colors. Your child will be tested around age four by being asked to identify red and green on an optical chart. If they have difficulty doing so other tests may be administered to further diagnose the problem. The majority of the the time, genetic color blindness cannot be treated but rather adjusted to and worked around.

Anchor Center for Blind Children

 

 

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