Color Blindness

[IntenseMagic]

My oldest son is color blind. We didn't find out until he was about 12 years old and we took him for an eye exam. When the doctor told me, I was like "well, that explains A LOT!" And then I felt super bad for all the times that I had fussed at him for not being able to match his clothes . When he was younger, we would get in to arguments all the time about what color things were, like when the moon has a yellowish glow, he would swear it was green. Most of the time, I thought he was just trying to mess with me and be difficult. Yep, I felt bad about those arguments, too . I often wonder how he sees the world. It's really fascinating to me.

From the time he was a little boy, he wanted to be in the Army. At 17 he signed up for the Reserve. He had good ASVAB scores, so the list of duties he was qualified for was pretty long. Until they found out he was color blind, and the list shrank to 3 areas. He really wanted infantry, but that was off the list. That's how he ended up training to be an Army medic and how he got to be a Paramedic today. He loves it and now teaches EMT courses and is a teacher assistant at a local college in the the medical assisting field. Medic wasn't even on his list of interesting things way back when, but because of the color blindness he found his true calling. So, it all turned out well.

And, if you've hung with me this long , the real reason for the post is that I'm considering talking to the family about splitting the cost of a pair of EnChroma glasses for him for his birthday in June. I'm just wondering if anyone has had any experience with them or know someone who has. Anyone color blind close to you??

 

[jenn mccabe]

I loved reading your story ... I have a 16 year old that wants to sign up for the Marines the day he turns 17 - even though he still has another year of HS after that to finish. And my cousin is a Navy medic and loves it. It's cool to hear how others got to where they are, but at the time I'm sure it was a huge disappointment for him. I'm glad it worked out and he loves what he does.

As for the glasses, I have never heard of them! Interesting for sure though. I had to go check out the website and loved seeing the reactions of the people who put those glasses on for the first time. Do any of the eyewear stores carry a pair to see them first hand? I bet they would be a pretty awesome gift for him!

 

[mollyc]

My DS is colorblind, as is my brother. I suspected early on my son might be. He had all his preschool teachers fooled, though, because he quickly learned to read the color names on the crayon labels. His friends at school will help him choose the right colors if needed for a project.

When he was about four, my DD wrote his name in green crayon on a brown paper bag and he could not find his name. That is when my suspicions were confirmed, but all in all he copes pretty well.

I have heard of those glasses, but my son is only 9, so I am waiting until he is older. He tends to lose things, so if he wants something like that, he needs to be older and more responsible.

Also, my son has trouble with green/brown/orange mostly and I wouldn't want to get his hopes up at this age and then have it not work the way it's supposed to. He would need to be older to handle that kind of disappointment.

 

[IntenseMagic]

I loved reading your story ... I have a 16 year old that wants to sign up for the Marines the day he turns 17 - even though he still has another year of HS after that to finish. And my cousin is a Navy medic and loves it. It's cool to hear how others got to where they are, but at the time I'm sure it was a huge disappointment for him. I'm glad it worked out and he loves what he does.

As for the glasses, I have never heard of them! Interesting for sure though. I had to go check out the website and loved seeing the reactions of the people who put those glasses on for the first time. Do any of the eyewear stores carry a pair to see them first hand? I bet they would be a pretty awesome gift for him!

My son was still in HS when he joined. He had been in JROTC for a couple of years. He did the one weekend a month through his senior year and then went to basic training after graduation. He could have done basic before his senior year, but he didn't sign up soon enough that summer. For him, it was not only something he had always wanted to do, but also one of the best things he could have ever done as far as gaining maturity and discipline.

I loved watching the reactions of the people, too. I would love to see Aaron's reaction!! There aren't any resellers near here, the closest would be Pittsburgh, which is about 4 hours. I'm also not sure what style he would like, so I haven't decided if I would want to order them, or just get the gift certificate and let him pick them out.

My DS is colorblind, as is my brother. I suspected early on my son might be. He had all his preschool teachers fooled, though, because he quickly learned to read the color names on the crayon labels. His friends at school will help him choose the right colors if needed for a project.

When he was about four, my DD wrote his name in green crayon on a brown paper bag and he could not find his name. That is when my suspicions were confirmed, but all in all he copes pretty well.

I have heard of those glasses, but my son is only 9, so I am waiting until he is older. He tends to lose things, so if he wants something like that, he needs to be older and more responsible.

I wish I had learned about my son's color blindness earlier. It would have saved a lot of arguments at home haha. He must have coped with it fairly well in school because there never seemed to be any issue other than his clothes. I chalked that up to being a boy. After we found out, I did often wonder if it interfered with things like reading color coded maps and such. I totally get waiting until he is older. My son is 25 and I still worry he might lose them

 

[djp332]

I'm glad he loves being a paramedic. My husband has been one since age 19. In fact, we met at the emergency room - I was the secretary and he had to go through my desk after bringing in his patients.

 

[IntenseMagic]

I'm glad he loves being a paramedic. My husband has been one since age 19. In fact, we met at the emergency room - I was the secretary and he had to go through my desk after bringing in his patients.

He really does. He was 18 when he started at the Rescue Squad as an EMT. I don't know how they do what they do, any first responders for that matter. I don't think it's something I could ever do. My daughter works in registration at the hospital, so they see each other quite often. She enjoys it, but the hours are not so great with the new baby. She often has to work the late night hours.

 

[bestcee]

Those glasses are really cool! I don't know anyone that's color blind, so I'd never heard of them before.
My brother's supervisor had surgery of some sort that corrected his color blindness. My brother (being 17, and dumb) would ask him what color things are when he came back, and then tell him that he was wrong, the surgery didn't work! Meanwhile, poor guy was right.

 

[scrapsandsass]

I always think it is so sad for people who are color blind. There are so many amazing colors and sights, and it would stink to have them dull.

I think it would be really cool to get him the glasses.

 

[QuiltyMom]

I've heard of those glasses, but I don't have any experience with them. They do look amazing!

 

[IntenseMagic]

Those glasses are really cool! I don't know anyone that's color blind, so I'd never heard of them before.
My brother's supervisor had surgery of some sort that corrected his color blindness. My brother (being 17, and dumb) would ask him what color things are when he came back, and then tell him that he was wrong, the surgery didn't work! Meanwhile, poor guy was right.

That's tooo funny!! We do tease Aaron all the time about not knowing what color anything is, but he never blames anything on being color blind, he just says he's right and we're all wrong

I always think it is so sad for people who are color blind. There are so many amazing colors and sights, and it would stink to have them dull.

I think it would be really cool to get him the glasses.

I really do think about him often and how he sees things. It is sad to not be able to see all the bright beautiful colors, but how cool that technology is helping! And his birthday is in June, so everything will be really bright and colorful then!