Interestingly, males get their genes for color deficiency from their mothers. Since a male only has one X chromosome, he needs just that one X chromosome to have the color deficiency trait in order to be colorblind. If a female has one X chromosome with color deficiency and the other without it, she will not be colorblind she needs both of her X chromosomes to have the color deficiency in order to be colorblind. In humans, an XY chromosome combination is male and an XX chromosome combination is female. Why do you think it is more common in males than females? Color deficiency is known as a sex-linked trait. You can see the key below: Photo by Field and Stream magazineĪbout one in 12 males and one in 200 females have color deficiency. Those with red-green color deficiency do not see the bear, they see a cow instead of a deer, and they see a fox near the bottom on the left. Those with normal color vision can usually see a bear in the upper left and a deer in the upper right. Most people, even if color deficient, can see the rabbit and squirrel near the bottom. Show the picture below to someone without comment. Knowing your colors is stressed greatly in early childhood, but children are rarely screened for colorblindness. Below is a picture with animals, which many young children understand. One concern is that while working with young children, they might not yet know their numbers and letters, so this test doesn’t work. Many of these tests involve identifying letters or numbers. There are many resources to help someone deal with this issue once it is discovered. Be aware that some people, especially children, might not realize they are color deficient, and the revelation might bring up difficult emotions. You can use one of these tests with your group. There are many cell phone apps and online tests for colorblindness. During the induction process into the military, color vision was screened for and detected. I know of two people who did not realize they were colorblind until they joined the military. It is rarely screened for, unlike other vision issues. Some people do not realize they are color blind until they are older. I understand this issue personally because my son is color deficient. Perhaps a more correct phrase to use would be color deficient rather than colorblind. Most colorblind people can distinguish some colors, but some are more difficult to differentiate than others. One example of this is commonly called colorblindness. Different people and animals perceive color differently.

Kids color blind test