son diagnosed as colour blind and worried about effect on future career

happy35

My 16 year old son has been told that he is colour blind to both red/green and blue/yellow, totally out of the blue as we all had no idea

I had the tests done when he was young and passed no problem, but now cant see them.

Plans were for him to be an electrician this is now totally out of the window i believe and I am now worried as to what other jobs he will be unable to do.

I am very confused by the whole colour blindness thing as in real life he can easily distinguish between colours and does know the difference between them, even when striped together etc. Son's Electronics and Computer Design teachers cant believe he is colour blind as he has no problems in their class with small components or shades of colour etc.

I am devastated and feel really guilty as the gene that causes this comes from my side of the family, although on my side they cant distinguish between red and green at all.

Please can anyone offer advice as one Apprentice provider has said they cant offer him any placements in the following industries, Plumbing, Heating and Ventilations, Engineering Maintenance, Electrician and Mechanical Engineering. I am still waiting to see what the others say.

Local College cant see the problem with offering him an Apprentice as in most jobs it wont be of any consequence as he can see colour.

I have had a couple of sleepless nights as I am concerned that he will find it difficult despite being expected to get all grade As at GCESE.

rachbc

My understanding is that its a no no for electrical work. My brother is colour blind however and now works as a mechanic - which these days does involve lots of electrical work. Even if he is accepted on to a course I would check with niceic to see if he would be able to register with them

happy35

Hi , thanks we think the same about electrics as well so have started looking at other options.

Just dont know what to look at to be honest, am going to try and do some more research again today.

I will contact the niceic today as he is also interested in renewable energy, gas and fossil to see what they say

System

Hi,

all three of my sons are colour blind, the eldest two are colour blind to both red/green and blue/yellow. Unfortunately ive passed the gene on to them as my Father was colour blind too. My youngest son is only blind to red/green although he says it doesnt cause him any problems in life in general and certainly not at school. My eldest son did 2 years at agricultural college and my middle son did 2 years in mechanics.

My youngest did want to follow his Dads footsteps and become an electrician (his Dad wires hospitals, schools, supermarkets and colleges) but we have suggested there are better options out there more suited to him, not just because of his colour defective vision but work in the industry is getting harder to come by by the flood of foreign workers on site.

We are waing for an appointment from the college as he/we are exploring the options of him becoming a surveyor.

Your best option is to discuss it with the careers adviser at your sons school and they will probably make things a lot clearer for you.

Dunroamin

As he's doing so well at school, couldn't he look at going into construction at a higher level than a practical apprenticeship at 16? At this level, colour blindness will be less of a problem.

You might find this site useful http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/living-with-colour-vision-deficiency/ and your Connexions office can advise him about alternative careers and entry routes.

happy35

thanks, I have tried to get an appointment with the careers advisor but he has been told that as he is high achieving and has the option of joining the 6th form etc he is lower priority, they are concentrating more on the children that are not going to achieve any GCSES above Grade C.

I know that all the children need help, but I dont see why you have to wait because you work hard and are clever. I have complained and am waiting for them to get back to me.

We have applied to a number of companies for engineering vacancies in a number of areas such as renewable energy etc.

I dont know whether to contact these and now advise that he is colour blind as when we filled in the applications we didnt know he was, or tell them if they ask.

A friend has been in touch who is a senior engineer offshore and is colour blind so cant see what the problem is getting an apprentice, I think we will just have to wait and see.

Peanuckle

Depending on how/where the diagnosis was made I'd be tempted to get a re-test if he's had no issues as you've stated. No harm in a second opinion.

System

Did they specifically ask on the application forms if your son had any impairment? (Not sure if impairment is the right word). I wouldnt volunteer the information if its not been asked for.

As for 6th form. My son isnt going to the 6th form either... purely because they dont do the range of subjects he is interested in. Are there no other colleges he can travel to?

happy35

Dunroamin wrote: »

As he's doing so well at school, couldn't he look at going into construction at a higher level than a practical apprenticeship at 16? At this level, colour blindness will be less of a problem.

You might find this site useful http://www.colourblindawareness.org/colour-blindness/living-with-colour-vision-deficiency/ and your Connexions office can advise him about alternative careers and entry routes.

thanks, I wanted him to stay on at school it is him that wants to leave and start an advanced apprenticeship.

I think his plans are to get an NVQ level 3 and then go on to HNC at some stage.

I have contacted the Local College who do not see it as a problem for Engineering but am unsure how an employer would see it.

I still cant get my head around the fact that he can tell red from green, blue from yellow and can tell if it is dark green, bright green etc and still be colour blind. I honestly dont think he sees things as sludge, his electronics teacher also cant understand this as he has completed very technical circuits with tiny components and used the correct colours without any help.

I have tried the test at home with him, the one with the dots that have a number of a different colour hidden in them and he definitely cannot do it

I know I have to get over my feelings of guilt but as they days go on I feel worse and just want to cry, my son on the other hand is quite positive and has accepted that this is the way he is.

GlasweJen

It seems odd that he passed as a child and has a colour defect now, it's genetic so it shouldn't get worse!

Who did the first test and who did the second? Do you live near a university that does optometry? If so I'd call them and ask if he can attend there to be assessed, they will have loads more tests than the average optician and this will be free as you're helping with teaching. Once you have a definitive answer you can go from there,

tea_lover

happy35 wrote: »

We have applied to a number of companies for engineering vacancies in a number of areas such as renewable energy etc.

I wouldn't worry about contacting them at this stage. Employers are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of health conditions during recruitment. The exceptions to this are where a condition could have health or safety implications (eg. electrician or train driver in the case of colour blindness).

If your son is successful at this stage of the selection process, the employer can then ask him for relevant health information. The company has to be able to demonstrate that what they are asking is relevant for the position, and again they are not allowed to discriminate in any way.

For more info you could try searching for "post offer health information", "pre-employment health questionnaires" or "equality act".

Have to dash now but just wanted to say that there are so, so many jobs that your son will be able to do just fine. I hope you manage to get somewhere with the careers service.

Oh, and as another poster has said, colour blindness doesn't deteriorate so it is odd that he wasn't diagnosed earlier. I'd definitely consider a second opinion if that's an option for you. Good luck with it all.