Color Blindness

Dr. Burke is one of Cincinnati’s most trusted resources concerning color blindness in children.

The term “color blindness” is confusing and inaccurate. “Color vision deficiency” is a more appropriate label and refers to the inability of a person to correctly distinguish certain colors. Although many people believe that anyone labeled “color blind” is only able to see colors of black and white, an individual with color vision deficiency confuses different shades of green and red.

Color vision deficiency is inherited through one of the mother’s “X” chromosomes. It is estimated that approximately 8% of men and 0.4% of women have this problem.

There are a few relatively easy tests to diagnose if one has a color vision deficiency. Children over the age of 3 are typically able to perform these tests. Unfortunately there is no cure for color blindness.

Since 8% of males, that is one out of every 12, have color vision deficiency, those children that have not mastered color matching should be tested before entering the educational system. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the teachers must be made aware of this disability as poorer performance in some activities would otherwise suggest a learning disability.

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