Color Perception in Autism: The Use of Color Overlays to Reduce Symptoms of Visual Stress

Abstract

Unusual sensory processing is common among individuals suffering from Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Individuals with ASD often experience visual stress when reading black print on a white page. They are also often hypersensitive, which is over sensitive, or hyposensitive, which is under sensitive, to certain lights and colors. Colors and their individual meanings are used everywhere in both our social and natural environments. When someone sees a color or is picking out a color, it is impossible for them to ignore their social and natural associations for that color. A social association is a learned association between color and the meanings formed in a socio-cultural environment A natural association is a learned association between color and meanings formed in a biological environment. Although colors are very important, everyone experiences and perceives colors differently. Also, color perception and preference differs greatly from culture to culture