Color Blindness

Color blindness often runs in families and is passed down through generations as a recessive trait on the X chromosome.  Because males only have one X chromosome, if their mother passes on the X chromosome with the color blindness gene then males are most often affected. If a female gets two X chromosomes with the altered gene, they will be color-blind, but it is tough to get 1 color-blindness gene, let alone 2. The most common color blindness is red-green color blindness.

We can start testing children between the ages of 3-5 years when most children know their colors very well. With special pictures, we can figure out which colors may be mixed up or not perceivable to the kiddo. Once color blindness is recognized, that child will work with the ophthalmologist to make sure the other parts of the eye are normal, and then once cleared will start learning adjustments for their color blindness. The most common adjustment that needs to be made is recognizing the red from the green light for traffic and driving concerns in a different way other than the red and green colors.