The Colourful History Of Autism Colour
While the world of autism was a blank canvas for much of the late 20th century, with most of the discussions surrounding autism taking place in laboratories and psychologist catch-ups , changes in understanding in the early 2000s meant that autism awareness became a top priority for the newly formed autistic community and, as such, we needed colours to fly our flag and grab attention.
For better or worse , many gravitated towards the colour blue due to its connotations with calmness and acceptance. However, at that time, blue was also chosen as autism was widely considered a male-only condition an idea which has since been proven wrong and, in many ways, damaging for female representation on the spectrum.
In stark contrast to the Brit boy band of the same name, Blues popularity only rose during the late 2000s. This was due to a myriad of factors but rooted at the centre of them all was the American charity Autism Speaks which was launched in 2005 and featured a blue puzzle piece as their logo. The colour then gained further traction in 2007 when the same charity created the Light it up Blue campaign: a ;World Autism Awareness Day initiative, which saw landmarks, celebs and everything else imaginable bathed in the charitys colours around the world.
Choose Your Own Symbol
There are lots of symbols and colors associated with autism spectrum disorders, but they may not all represent you or how you feel about autism. Once you learn how to recognize and interpret them all, use the ones that resonate with you personally or create your own symbol to show how you feel about ASD.
The Effect Of Colours On The Mood & Behaviour Of Children With Autism
Colour is one of the very first concepts we learn, and we use colour to convey emotion, messages, and meaning. Recent studies on how individuals perceive colour and the related sensory responses show that some individuals may be more sensitive to colour. This is because some people have increased sensory responses, stronger visual processing abilities, and differentiated cognitive pathways when it comes to colour perception.
Typically, these might include individuals with ADHD or Autism. Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder may show unusual sensory processing and perception as suggested by anecdotal evidence from parents, caretakers, teachers of persons with ASD and persons with autism themselves suggests that children with this disorder may perceive colour quite differently as compared to neurotypical children.
How do children with autism respond to different colours?
Responses to colour are both physiological and psychological. Studies decoding the physiological effects of colours have shown changes in sensory sensitivity, blood pressure, heart rate and brain development. Psychological impacts include changes in levels of aggression, length, and quality of attention span and ability to communicate effectively.
Identifying Colour Preferences
The Use of Colour in Different Settings
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Green Soft And Soothing
Green is a color associated with nature and growth.
Green colors are soft and very soothing and can invoke a feeling of joy and tranquillity in children.
Light hues of green are helpful in stress management, as they can dissipate the signs of agitation and chaos that children with sensory issues experience.;
Suggested autism-friendly green color palette:
- 1: #898C6D
- 5: #D6B9B2
Autism & Pdd Comparatives/superlatives Lite Helps Children Learn Grammar With Buddy Bear
Comparatives and superlatives are integral parts of our language that let us compare things . The concept behind them can be tricky to grasp, but Buddy Bear is there to help children on the spectrum learn these difficult grammatical structures. Based on popular storybooks, the app features 5 simple stories that show Buddy Bear in different situations, like petting dogs or seeing stars. I enjoyed watching the bear interact with various objects as the narrator calmly described what was happening. At the end of a scene, your child will be asked to answer a question by choosing one of the answers displayed on the screen. As each storyline explores different descriptive vocabulary, your child wont get bored following Buddys adventures.
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Autism Parenting Magazine Provides Specialist Advice And Support
With over 73,000 regular readers, Autism Parenting Magazine is one of the most popular subscription-based magazine apps that offers educational articles and parent support. I found that Autism Parenting Magazine is much more than a virtual newspaper its a welcoming community to support your journey. Its a great choice for keeping up with the latest research on autism or seeking professional help, and you can also chat with like-minded people facing the same obstacles. The app is filled with parents sharing their real-life struggles as well as adults on the spectrum keeping you inspired with their stories of hope.
Download Autism Parenting Magazine on iOS or Android
Zohan Em030 Hearing Protection Earmuffs
Quick Review:If you just want noise cancelling earmuffs without technology integration, ZOHAN EM030 earmuffs are your pick. This pair are very versatile, fitting anyone from toddlers up to young teens.
Check the price on Amazon.
Benefits for Children with Autism:
Affordable: As there are no stereo sound speakers integrated into this set of earmuffs, youll be saving money.
Fit for many Ages: Several earmuffs on the market are only suitable for ages 5+. Not these ones. ZOHAN have made them to be very flexible for many age groups. Simply adjust the headband equally on both sides for a comfortable fit.
Noise Reduction Rating: These earmuffs have a noise reduction rating of 22db. This means that they reduce external noises by 22 decibels to dull outside sounds.
Over-Ear Cup: As a basic standard, youll need cups that go right over the ears to create a full seal from the outside. The ZOHANs do just that.
Choose a Design: The earmuffs come in three designs. I love the graffiti look for boys and the awesome unicorn design for girls.
1 Year Warranty: Purchase with confidence, because ZOHAN have a full 1-year warranty on their earmuffs.
Downsides:
If you want tech integration, these ones arent for you.
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What Is Color Therapy
Everyone has a favorite color or a set of colors they like. That color may bring them joy or peace or remind them of a particular memory or activity. We fill our home with colors we like or colors that bring certain moods to specific rooms. We decorate, we paint, and we coordinate, but what effect does color have?;
In honor of National Color Therapy month, lets look at what color therapy is, how color affects children with autism and how we can use color therapy in our everyday lives.
Color Therapy, or chromotherapy, is based on the idea that color and colored lights can help treat physical or mental health. According to this idea, they cause subtle changes in our moods and biology.
For example, being in a dark room with a fluorescent light may cause anxiety, while being in a warm-colored room with plants would bring a sense of peace.
Children with autism are no different when it comes to colors. They may even be more susceptible to specific colors because their senses react differently than children without autism. This is because children with Autism Spectrum Disorder have abnormalities in their eye structure. Due to some chemical imbalances and neural deficits, the rod cells and cone cells present in their eyes experience different changes. Many studies have revealed that 85% of children with autism perceive colors more intensely than other children.
Colors and How Children with Autism Perceive Them
Blue
Orange
Green
Pink
Colours In The Learning Environment
The use of colour in a learning environment can profoundly affect student attention, behaviour and achievement. Many students with special needs are particularly sensitive to colour within the classroom. The trend for inclusive education in public schools and the increase in the number of students with special needs, including the wide range of learning disabilities, means the colour choices you make in your classroom are more important than ever.
As classrooms are communal spaces serving learners with a range of needs and responses to colour, deciding upon a suitable colour scheme presents some special challenges. Research into this subject shows that balance is the key. Classrooms which are too stimulating can have a strongly adverse effect upon learners with disabilities leading to behaviours such as hand flapping, repeated blinking, fixed gazing at lights and moving fingers back and forth in front of the face. These sorts of responses show links with reduced communication, weak concentration and less social interaction.
Classrooms which are too neutral and unstimulating are, in many ways, as bad as classrooms that overstimulate.
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Using Color Therapy To Help Autistic Children
Unfortunately, the best thing that you can do when you want to help children suffering from autism in regards to colors is to work with someone that knows a lot about the subject. The idea is to avoid the creation of strong discrepancies. Coordination is important and colors have to basically blend. Every single color chosen has to be taken into account. The color scheme at home should be balanced. Areas that have different purposes have to be clearly separated. This will help people that deal with autism. Stronger hues will help to define living spaces like hallways, kitchens and dining areas. Also, it will help to navigate.
How Else Can You Make A Bedroom Autism
As mentioned in this article, children with autism perceive things more intensely in comparison to normal kids.
The lights look brighter, the sounds louder, the smells stronger, touch and taste also feel more intense.
To make a bedroom autism friendly, remember that comfort is key.
So besides choosing calming colors, here are a few other things you can consider:
For daytime activities, children with autism need to stay calm and concentrate on the task at hand.
Make sure that the bedroom is clutter-free and that hazardous items are stored away.
Also, make sure that plenty of sunlight can enter the bedroom because children with ASD respond well to natural light.
However, curtains serve as a good option to block out the sun when it is too bright.
A sufficient amount of sunlight will improve energy levels and attention of your kid, but too much light will disturb and agitate them.
On the other hand, you need to promote a sense of safety and comfort inside the room.
A sensory pea pod is a great piece of furniture that serves as a cozy nest for your sensory child.
This piece of furniture helps the kid feel safe and rested when tense and overwhelmed.
For night-time, children with autism need to fall asleep and stay asleep without any distractions.
To ensure maximum comfort, keep noise to a minimum.
Use a sound machine that plays white noise to block out sounds such as the air conditioning sound or car sounds.
You can also play some meditating music to prepare your kid for bedtime.
Also Check: Do Autistic Toddlers Dance
Which Colour Represents Autism
When done right, some colours become synonymous with the things they are used to represent. Take for example the healthy green hues of the Samaritans logo or the sleek, futuristic black of the Apple apple. Even in the world of literature, its hard not to see a hopeful yellow background with a powerful red centre and think of Superman. Yes, its a fact that, for any given thing, there is a colour to reflect it. But which colour represents autism?
This is a question which I have seen raised multiple times and, with the help of both my marketing degree and own perspective of being autistic, today I aim to find both an answer to what colour represents autism, while simultaneously frustrating every non-U.K. reader by spelling colourthe correct way the British way.
The Best Room Colors For Children With Autism
Children with autism thrive in a calm and relaxing setting that discourages high-stress activity. When you decorate your child’s bedroom or paint other rooms in your house to accommodate autism-related needs, opt for colors that are muted and soothing. A serene room design will help your child relax after a busy day away from home. Brightly colored rooms are cute, but soft hues are best-suited to the needs of your child.
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Some Materials I Love For Color Coding Your Special Education Classroom
So, what can we color code? I actually think the better question is is there anything we can’t color code? Haha!
Some of my go-to color coded classroom items are visuals, schedules, binders, folders, name tags . I also love using them for covers to bound workbooks, line up spots, assigned seats with color codes. And to keep things organized I like book bins, crates, caddies, and supplies.
Here is an with some supplies in different color options to get you started!
Also, I’ve got a freebie for you! Trying to start easily with color coding for your classroom? These labels pictured on the binders below are perfect for your data clipboard or binders. I also use them to label areas of the classroom. I will put them on student desks, and spots. I’ve also loved to use the spines for binders! Grab this by signing up below!
What Are The Best Autism Colors To Teach First
When in doubt, I would pick red, yellow, and green to start with. I would not pick orange and red at the same time, for instance, or orange and yellow at the same time, because theyre too close. But sometimes, articulation gets in the way with something like yellow, so we might have to substitute something that the child can say more clearly.
Also, we want to watch out for pastel colors, because they look a little bit different. Id pick primary colors to start with, and avoid teaching brown, black, and white, and certainly gray and pink should wait, unless pink happens to be a favorite color. Those non-primary colors tend to be taught later.
So, once we have our construction paper, what you want to do is to cut it up so you have basically four to six pieces, all in squares that kind of match of red, yellow, and green. Then we would start pairing, red, red, and they would put it with the other red construction paper. We dont want to start teaching colors with items, such as, This is a red firetruck, because thats too complicated. What we want to do is we want to teach colors with these sample swatches, and then once the child really knows colors, we can start combining the color plus the item name, which is much later down the line.
Ready to learn more and turn things around for your child or client with autism? Sign up for my free 3-step guide!
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Fmloves Active Noise Cancelling Headphones
Quick Review:Best for adults. These headphones block 85% of ambient noise through their active noise-cancelling technology. They also come with quality stereo sound for plugging into TV or music.
Check the price on Amazon.
Benefits for Adults with Autism:
Escape from Over Sensitization: Put these headphones onto older adolescents or adults when struggling with noises around them. The headphones will help them retreat into their own quiet space to reset and recover. FMLOVES claims the cups block out 85% of background noise.
Turn Noise Cancelling on and Off: The noise cancelling function creates its own sound waves that counter and neutralize ambient noises. It requires electricity to run, but comes with a powerful 20-hour rechargeable battery.
Comfortable: ;Nice big circular cups that cover the whole ear. The headband is adjustable and has soft padding so theyre comfortable at all times. The headphones have also been designed to be very lightweight.
Warranty: The 1-year warranty gives me confidence that FMLOVES backs their product quality even after youve made your purchase.
Magic Fluids Lets Your Child Relax With Colorful On
Though its not specifically designed for children on the spectrum, Magic Fluids helps kids unwind with an interactive liquid-like simulator. Choose from colorful smoke, slime, or water, and let your child watch the visuals change depending on how they manipulate the screen. I was fully immersed in the creative process, alternating between fast and slow swipes that helped me create beautiful displays. As it doesnt require specific skills or extensive thinking, your child will be able to relax while discovering basic movement physics. Magic Fluids also makes a great addition to bedtime as it facilitates slow meditation that helps kids fall asleep.
Download Magic Fluids on iOS or Android
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Tips For Creating A Bedroom For Children On The Autism Spectrum
By Jenny Wise, Special Home Educator
Approximately four in five children on the autism spectrum struggle with sleeping. From sensory needs and functionality to promoting independence and safety, a lot goes into making a bedroom that meets their needs and preferences. When all you want is the best for your child, guidelines and intricacies can be overwhelming as a parent. To make it a little easier, here are three tips to get you started on creating a bedroom for children on the autism spectrum.
Color Schemes For Classrooms
Classrooms which are too stimulating can have a strongly adverse effect upon learners with disabilities leading to behaviors such as hand flapping, repeated blinking, fixed gazing at lights and moving fingers back and forth in front of the face. These sorts of responses show links with reduced communication, weak concentration, and less social interaction.
Classrooms which are too neutral and unstimulating are, inmany ways, as bad as classrooms that overstimulate. Bland environments lead toa 25% reduction in task efficiency, restlessness, irritation, difficultyconcentrating and amplified emotional responses.
Small Changes
You might not have much say in the primary color scheme for your classroom but, if you do have a choice, warm neutrals such as tan or sand would be an ideal choice. A slightly deeper hue in a similar color would be a good choice for the main wall that students look at for learning purposes.
Large blocks of bright primary colors are unhelpful, but you can try using soft shades of blue or green in moderation. Small amounts of brighter ones are used to define boundaries or as a background to charts and small displays.
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