Children & Achromatopsia


When you think about how we are taught, you begin to realise that colours are used everywhere, from teaching the alphabet and numbers, to helping to cross the road. It is no wonder that sometimes a child with the condition may feel confused. With your help, they will be able to feel safe and learn just like everyone else. The first step in helping your child is to stop them using educational materials that use colour as a means of teaching. Once this has been addressed, it is vital that your child get help to prevent excessive light from getting into their eyes. This was previously achieved by using thick sunglasses, however the advent of new red contact lenses has changed this.

It may be helpful to ask your child’s teacher to seat them away from any sources of bright light, such as windows, lights or lamps. It may be necessary to have the blinds drawn to further decrease the amount of light in the room. You should also tell your child that if at any time they can’t see something, to either ask the teacher what it says, or go up to the board.

Some children who have the condition have also found it very useful to have CCTV (closed circuit T.V.) to magnify pages on a book, or their work. This prevents the need for them to strain their eyes while trying to read. Another way to overcome the vision loss associated with this condition is to use large print texts that contain no colour. This will make it much easier for your child to read and is a lot less expensive than CCTV.

Finally, it is important that if your child has this condition that you should let the school know. They can often provide extra teaching and specialist resources that will greatly aide your child’s learning. You should also be aware that they are allowed extra time on their examinations, as too much stress can sometimes worsen the condition. This can cause headaches and migraines if the eyes have too much work to do.

<<<previous page

next page>>>


Laser Eye Surgery Enquiry Form

Complete this form if you would like information about laser eye surgery including costs & suitablity.