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

mgdavid

<pedant mode>
it's colour deficiency, not colour blindness.

around 10% of males have colour deficiency, to a greater or lesser extent, it varies a lot.
I am one, as Peachyprice said, it's pastel and matt colours that are worse. It prevented me applying for air traffic control when I left school, but I ended up in IT and don't think I suffered career-wise. I'm red-green deficient which got interesting when I needed a medical for a motor racing licence, important for the red and green flag situation! However my GP put me through the standard book of pictures, said I was moderately deficient ('not the worst he's seen') and then wrote a note that I can 'differentiate primary colours' (true) which made it all right.

So the message is don't worry, work around it, and don't mention it until asked.

londoner1998

Hey OP

my husband is colour blind and he has worked in a range of technical jobs with no problem. He has worked as a theatre technician/ set designer for years and never had a problem in other jobs he has done. I am not quite sure, but his is not the green/red kind, is more the colours in between he can;t quite distinguish: green/brown/grey. My green shirt if brown for him and pink can be grey... but it all depends on the colour next to it. Like another poster said, he knows the grass is green although he sees it differently.
I would say not to worry too much. As others said, if he knows what the colours are , he should be fine. He just needs to work around it, and there will be a lot of others things he can do. Try to focus on that, not on the 'he can't go into X, Y or X'

I must say, my husband is very good at drawing and painting and often his works are very , very interesting from the colour point of view, almost psychodelic. I am sure now that has to do with how he sees colour...

X

gunsandbanjos

Some jobs in the Forces would be off limits. One of my friends wanted to be a Navy officer and was rejected because he is colour blind.

kingfisherblue

My son has colour vision deficiency - he doesn't like the term colour blind, as he is still a bit sensitive to it. We found out when he was 11, about 15 month ago. He cannot be in the Army or Police, which were his preferred career options at the time.

Since then, he has started secondary school, which has caused a bit of confusion (the bunsen burner flame is not green, as he thought, it is yellow and blue), and also at an after school club where he was painting an Airfix model in red. In the latter situation, he thought it was green and another lad, whom he doesn't know very well, pointed it out to him. His matter of fact comment about his vision deficiency shows me that he is starting to accept it. He didn't even mind when the other lads started asking him what colour various things were, whereas a few months earlier he would have been horrified.

He has now decided that he wants to become a carpenter or joiner, as his original career choices are not possible.

Incidentally, I am the carrier of the defective gene. My parents divorced when I was young and I haven't seen my father for over thirty years (his choice - he still keeps in touch with my older sister, but not my older brother, myself or my younger sister). I didn't know he was colour blind, but nor did he until he was in the Navy. My mum tells me that was when he was in his early 20s. I do wonder how it affected him as he was a stamp dealer, so colour plays an important part.

looby75

we found out a couple of years ago that my daughter is red/green colour blind. She was 17 when it was discovered, she wants to go into medical research and was a bit worried that it would be a problem for her but it's not been at all. She's managed to get up to 17 without it being a problem, and although it means there are a few jobs she now couldn't consider there are still plenty more she can, just as your son can.

Please don't feel guilty, it's not something you had any control over and I'm sure that what ever your son decides he'll do well at it.

happy35

thanks everyone for your replies, we did another online test earlier where you put colours in order. As this was a sample test there are only 2 results mild to moderate and moderate to severe, he was mild to moderate.

He has come to terms with it really well and has decided to move more into the engineering or welding fields rather than the original plans of being an electrician.

We have decided to attend all the aptitude tests that he has been accepted for and keep an open mind as to what they offer.

I have also told him that if there is nothing he fancies then he can always consider college full time, we are okay financially thankfully so doing this wouldn't be a problem

I just want him to be happy and doing something that he enjoys I think in a few times when we know which direction we are heading then the feelings I have will subside

I really appreciate all the advice that you have all given me, thanks

Dunroamin

Judi wrote: »

Thats exactly how i found out my son was colour blind. He had to do some homework and coloured the grass brown. I questioned him about it and he was clueless so i got my optician to check him out before i went to the school for further tests.
.

I spent my childhood painting green trees with brown leaves, although the tests show me to be red green colour blind.

meritaten

my neighbours son was colour blind and wanted to be a pilot in the RAF and was rejected but for some reason was accepted in the Fleet air arm - but as a mechanic. he rose through the ranks. but when he completed his service he retrained as a Physiotherapist! and is doing very nicely!
I would say dont limit your son to one trade - broaden your/his horizons and take a look at other options.

gyromain

I discovered I was colour blind when I was 13 years old - some 30 years ago now. I too wanted to be an elecrtican or electronics engineer. - (dependent on exam results). After leaving school I changed by track and became a computer programmer. I could not stand data processing (now called IT). I then went to university and studied Computer Science with Electronics). I have spent the last 30 years working in the electronic manufacturing sector. Nobody has even questioned me about colour blindness. I design & build prototype equipment myself - I always double check my wiring with a meter.

JimmyTheWig

OP, we found out about my colour-blindness when I was about 5. I don't remember it, now, but aparently at the time I wasn't fussed at all but my mum was particularly upset. Almost in the same breath that she was told that I was colourblind they rattled off a list of jobs that I wouldn't be able to do.
My main problem green/brown, which is quite unusual. (Not my only rare gene, as it happens!)

No use blaming yourself. It's not something you had any control over. I guess the only thing you can say is if you had known, would you have terminated? I'm sure the answer is "no", in which case concentrate on the intelligent, hard working son you have rather than on his disability.

However, I would question the fact that he passed the test previously and has had no problems since. There are some tests on youtube that you can google. I've just tried a couple and failed dismally. [There's still a little bit of me that thinks people have been tricking me all this time with these tests and there's no numbers in there!] Get him to try one of those before bothering with getting other professionals involved.

kingfisherblue wrote: »

He didn't even mind when the other lads started asking him what colour various things were

I tell you, that's the most annoying thing about being colourblind.
Especially as people always ask you the most obvious colours.

looby75 wrote: »

we found out a couple of years ago that my daughter is red/green colour blind.

Interesting. Very rare for girls. I presume that her father and maternal grandfather were both colourblind. (And even then it's still a 50:50 chance.)