A color-coded world: Occupational therapy strategies for people with color blindness

Color vision deficiency (CVD), more commonly referred to as color blindness, is a condition in which individuals are unable to distinguish certain colors (American Optometric Association [AOA], n.d.). Defined by the color shades for which perception is altered, CVD has three primary categories of diagnosis: (a) red-green (the most common type), (b) blue-yellow, and (c) complete CVD—the rarest type (National Eye Institute, 2023). Most often a congenital, X-linked recessive condition, CVD can also be acquired through ocular and neurological diseases, aging, trauma to the eye or brain, chemical exposure, or medications used for cardiac conditions and rheumatoid arthritis (Almustanyir, 2025; Lai, 2024).