Hello,

Although I can't point to specific research, 3 paths of inquiry come to mind. 1) I know there is a body of work related to early childcare environments and preschool architecture.  Some "schools of thought" believe in keeping these environments very warm and neutral, and teachers wear bright colors to keep the attention on them.  There was also some work around not having too many resources on the walls since they can be distracting, particular if they are not actually used.  Think about classrooms that there is no bare wall space--where do you look?  2) There are also several bodies of work on the psychology of color and marketing behaviors if you want to explore that route more generically,  Finally, if you are thinking about preventing problem behavior or increasing target behaviors for specific individuals, I would recommend checking out the research on "preference assessment" as part of behavior support packages.  Shelley Clarke and Glen Dunlap have done some great work in that area. Best of luck---

Michelle;

Thank you for your response and some great avenues of research to focus upon!

You're very welcome--I'm glad it was helpful!

Hello Pastor Debbie, 

The short answer is Yes: Colors do affect children with disabilities. A sub-group of children with dyslexia benefit from working with blue and yellow colors. To be more specific, please see my article here https://www.dynaread.com/reading-where-does-it-go-wrong-in-dyslexia

Scroll down to Visual and auditory processing and The role of Ophthalmology. Links to research papers are provided.

Hope this helps. Keep on being a blessing to special needs children,

Hans

Thank you so very much Mr. Dutch Dekkers! I am highly appreciative of this and I am going to go to the site right now, Blessings!

Personal experience with children with autism tells me that for some children the colour of the classroom can be the source of sensory overload.  The offending colour can differ per child. Even colours that seem utterly inoffensive/plain/soft to others, may be hard to deal with for some, like a very pale lavender, or green.

Cari-lene Mul;

Thank you for sharing your experience for me. If color is a source of information overload for children with autism can you give some specific color choices that have this effect,  and have you witnessed any color (s) that have a calming effect or even a increased stimulation that transcends over to a noticeable turnabout of the child's response to interaction, or even helped to ease from the routine that some autism children need? Any information at all would be greatly appreciated, and thank you in advance.  

Pastor Debbie

Unfortunately I can't say I've discovered a hard and fast rule about which colours are harder/easier to deal with than others. I know of one case where the child himself didn't even know what it was that unsettled him. It took weeks before it became clear was the colour of the room (green, in this case). For people with autism, a calmer environment is usually better than a very busy environment, colour-wise, decoration-wise (posters/pictures etc) and of course people-wise.

This is a very old concept and also has be said of noise =  30 years ago atCentro Ann Sullivan del  Peru- CASP  They rapidly found out that it was more important to adapt students to all the world's inputs because Peru is a very active, loud and colorful and happy country - they found it was better to teach the students to cope with the same environmental stimuli that all people face in their culture. In that way the students learn the behaviors they need to indepentlybe included into their society, which is the Goal of CASP for the over 400 people of all ages , even into their 60's,that this program serves along with their families - it is a lifetime program designed to adapt  services as the students grow older.  You can find out about this school by searching it's name online or by searching for Liliana Mayo, Phd the founder and Executive Director

Judith;

Thank you so much for your resource. I am very much appreciative of it. It is true that the best environment is the one that is all inclusive. Thank you again,

Debbie

Cari-lene Mul;

Thank you so much for your feedback. This is very helpful to me as I continue to study this important issue. If you would think of anything else that might help me, please do not hesitate to inbox me or reply here.

Thank you again;

Paster Debbie