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Color Perception in Children with Autism

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Abstract

This study examined whether color perception is atypical in children with autism. In experiment 1, accuracy of color memory and search was compared for children with autism and typically developing children matched on age and non-verbal cognitive ability. Children with autism were significantly less accurate at color memory and search than controls. In experiment 2, chromatic discrimination and categorical perception of color were assessed using a target detection task. Children with autism were less accurate than controls at detecting chromatic targets when presented on chromatic backgrounds, although were equally as fast when target detection was accurate. The strength of categorical perception of color did not differ for the two groups. Implications for theories on perceptual development in autism are discussed.

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Acknowledgements

The idea for this research originated in part from discussions with Graham Schafer about color naming abilities in children with autism. We are grateful to the schools and children who were involved in this research, to Lynsey Mahony for assistance with some of the data collection and to Hollie Boulter and Eleanor Rees for helpful discussions about the research. We also owe thanks to Sheila Franklin for providing the anecdotal evidence of color obsessions in those with autism. This research was funded by a UREC Pump-priming grant to the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 5XH, England, UK

    Anna Franklin, Paul Sowden, Rachel Burley, Leslie Notman & Elizabeth Alder

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  1. Anna Franklin
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  2. Paul Sowden
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  3. Rachel Burley
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  4. Leslie Notman
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  5. Elizabeth Alder
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Correspondence to Anna Franklin.

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Franklin, A., Sowden, P., Burley, R. et al. Color Perception in Children with Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 38, 1837–1847 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0574-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0574-6

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