Should Colour Vision Deficiency Be a Recognized Special Education Need (SEN)?

Abstract

A colour vision deficiency (CVD) is a condition that affects about one in 12 of the male population, and one in 200 of the females. On average, there is at least one student in every classroom affected by a reduced colour vision. In schools and in teaching, colours are used as a tool to identify, group, highlight, warn and explain. For a colour vision deficient student, the colours used to code the information may be a source of confusion instead of a tool to decode. This paper provides an overview of the possible academic and social-emotional challenges for CVD students and propose strategies and actions to raise awareness and enable colour universal design.