Search Results for: blog color blindness

Is Your Child Colorblind?

Color Blindness is an inherited condition that affects more boys than girls. It can be important to diagnose this condition early, since being color blind can affect how well a young child does in preschool. Preschool is all about colors. Not only are there the names of the colors to learn, but teachers use color in so many different lessons. A counting worksheet, for example, may have instructions to point to three green things. A preschool teacher may ask children to count out four red cars or draw a blue circle on paper. If your child cannot differentiate between colors, … Continue reading →

Living With Color Blindness

Think for a moment about how many things in life rely on color. From getting dressed in the morning (making sure your clothes match) to driving to work (and reading traffic signals), color is all around us! Compensating for an inability to see colors can be easy in some ways and not so easy in others. As far as traffic lights go, a person can learn the order of the three lights — red at the top, yellow in the middle, and green at the bottom — and watch for which one is lit. Even if you can’t see the … Continue reading →

Color Blindness

Most people with color blindness can see some color. People who can see no color at all are actually pretty rare! In a normal eye, there are color-sensitive cells in the retina — the layer of nerves at the back of the eye that convert light into signals sent to the brain. These color-sensitive cells are called cones, and they come in three types: sensitive to red, blue, or green light. In a normal eye, you see color when the cone cells sense any or all of these types of light; cone cells work best in bright light and not … Continue reading →

What’s In Your Genes?

The human body is a very interesting thing, as are the genes within it. Some of our physical traits are uniquely our own, and others we have inherited from our parents or other ancestors. It can be confusing to know which things are commonly inherited and which are not. For example, the shape of your hairline is determined by genetics. Some of us have a hairline that goes straight across our forehead, while others have what is called a widow’s peak hairline. The Widow’s peak hairline comes to a point in the center of the forehead. I just looked at … Continue reading →

Check Your Homelearner’s Eyes and Ears!

We trundled over to the health center yesterday to get my daughter’s eyes and ears tested. I knew that her ears were fine, but I just wanted to make doubly sure. Her eyes I was a little doubtful about – while she has great distance vision, unlike her mother, her reading vision was a little off last time we checked. It turns out it is still borderline, so we are off to the eye doctor to get it sorted out. When babies are born, they are really good at seeing what they need to see, which is their mother’s chest … Continue reading →

Growing Up With a Legally Blind Parent

I am the oldest of four children. My mother is legally blind, (and so was her mother). Growing up with a parent who is legally blind is not the same as growing up with a parent who can see. When most people learn that someone is blind they assume that it means that the person cannot see anything at all. Being legally blind is not exactly what one might expect. People who are legally blind have some sight, but it is extremely limited. This was the case with both my mother, and my grandmother. I became my mother’s eyes. She … Continue reading →

Children’s Books on Diversity and Feelings

My last blog and the one before that highlighted books showing diverse families such as adoptive, interracial, stepparent, single parent, multigenerational. This blog will spotlight books that: * look at diversity of abilities and disabilities as well as looks *help kids deal with diverse feelings I’ve recommended before—but can’t recommend highly enough—the Sesame Street book We’re Different, We’re the Same. Using Sesame’s Street’s trademark mixture of all kinds of people, animals, and friendly monsters, as well as kids’ favorite character Elmo as cameraman (camera-monster?), the book shows pictures of all different types of noses, eyes, skin color, body size and … Continue reading →

When One Sibling Is Away….

My oldest son is in the Colorado mountains this weekend, building and living in a snow cave. Their scout troop had a two hour briefing on avalanches, hypothermia, snow blindness, and frost bite. Just what a mama wants to hear. Sometimes I am jealous of the scout trips – but not this one. Sleeping on top of and under snow? Brrr…. I like camping, but I like my nice warm bed and central heat more, thanks all the same. My fourth graders are jealous though. They are anxious for next year when they’ll be old enough for these camping trips. … Continue reading →

Eye Opening Information About Eye Exams

I had to take my contacts to get professionally cleaned today and while I was sitting in the waiting area I got into a conversation with a woman who provided me with some eye opening news. Long story short, a few months ago she scheduled an eye exam because she was having a problem with her left eye jerking uncontrollably. Our ophthalmologist examined her eye and referred her to another doctor who suggested she have an MRI done. The MRI (a magnetic scan) revealed that she had a tumor on her pituitary gland. She underwent surgery and she’s fine now, … Continue reading →

Why Does My Body Need Vitamin A?

What’s number one on that multivitamin label? Vitamin A! It may be at the top of the list, but do you know why your body needs it? Vitamin A is critical for your vision — especially night vision. A deficiency of vitamin A is a major cause of blindness around the world. This vitamin (also known as retinol) also helps promote growth, skin cell regeneration, and reproduction. Vitamin A drops can help relieve dry eyes. Vitamin A also helps keep your mucous membranes healthy and your immune system functioning. The moistness of your mucous membranes helps your body trap and … Continue reading →