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Do you know 1 in 44 boys are diagnosed as being on the autistic spectrum and I in 64 girls? With the CDC indicating an increase of 10% in cases of autism, it's likely you have been touched by autism in some way by a friend or direct family member.
One thing for sure is that children who are ASD (autistic spectrum disorder are affected by colors, and color can be an important factor in how your child's behavior manifests at home.
This article is not written by an interior designer or some spurious doctor with questionable qualifications. It’s written by someone who has first-hand experience in dealing with the potential challenging behavior of autistic children.
Let's take an objective look at how colors can affect your child and more such as:
Although somewhat inconclusive, studies suggest that color is an important part of a child's behavior and emotional state when diagnosed with ASD.
Colors are said to seem more intense and have a neon brightness which is understandably disturbing to a child with ASD and could result in behavioral problems.
Place yourself in the child's shoes for just a few minutes and imagine a bright neon red image in your eyes for most of the day, you would become agitated and at some point distraught.
So, what can you do to try and alleviate this potentially irritating and behavioral-changing issue? It is incumbent upon the parent to do everything they can to help the child with ASD.
You can introduce pastel colors into your home to achieve balance and harmony for your child’s ASD.
Pastels, muted tones that are not glaring in intensity such as red, It is easy to assume you don't have bright red walls at home but its an example, many of you may have red accessories and bright orange and yellow which are thought to be just as neon in appearance to a child with ASD.
Let's get into it and suggest some soothing options for colors in your child's bedroom.
It seems like a logical place to start but don't feel the color is gender specific, it's not and whatever works best for your child in their bedroom is the color you should choose, many boys are into pinks and lilac colors, and why not? And conversely, a lot of girls like what traditionally would be associated with male colors.
Blue has always been associated with calming and relaxing thoughts, its pastel colors are soft and ideal for any child's bedroom who would benefit from feeling calm after a challenging day at school.
Select the color that your child responds to positively and apply it to the walls, and remember to paint the ceiling the same color. Although white and blue is a classic combination white is not a friendly color for an autistic child.
Although white is considered to be a neutral shed it can be too bright and tiring for an autistic child's eyes. You could use a lighter tone on the ceiling to add contrast, but it's best to stick with a soothing theme that your child responds to.
If you add some accessories buy a pastel blue or another pastel color such as a vibrating bean cushion or some texture toys for playtime.
As we move from the traditional blues to lilac and pink the room will take on a softer palette that your child will find relaxing and hopefully low then to sleep in a calm state.
Again don't feel tempted to introduce white or anything bold, not even as an accessory, it will contradict the ethos of the bedroom and may cause distress to the child.
According to color psychology, the color lilac is frequently associated with qualities such as friendliness, open-mindedness, immaturity, and extroversion. The color is said to help reduce antisocial behavior and aggression by encouraging emotional expression. It's the perfect color for a child who is prone to tantrums and outbursts.
If the color is pink, psychologists suggest it is thought to be a calming color associated with love, kindness, and femininity.
Again you will apply it to the walls and the ceiling, if you have white kickboards in the bedroom and a white door you should change it to a pastel that is calming.
Don't be concerned about mixing and matching pastels, it should have the desired effect of making the child feel calm.
Moving to some deeper pastels that you may consider as accents in the bedroom, there is nothing preventing you from creating a magnificent bedroom with pastel colors, pastels are not boring and are frequently used in mainstream bedroom decor for adults so don't get hung up on colors and pastel shades.
Introduce your child to the colors for recreation if it's negative you may need to go back to the tried and tested colors but the premise is not to create a color that is tiring and has a vibrant hue, which none of these pastels do.
The lilac and blue make a great color scheme with the colors complementing each other perfectly but as before don't get hung up on colors and tones it's about behavior and calmness that you want to introduce into your child's bedroom.
It makes sense to apply the lightest tone to the ceiling, darker tones on a ceiling can be oppressive so let's not run the gauntlet and stick to some common sense decor traditions. Of course, painting the bedroom all one color will work perfectly and again is a fashionable thing to do for adults.
You may find your wife moving into your child's bedroom and who can blame her with these beautiful pastel pink tones?
Pink has always been suggested as a feminine color and it's understandable why, guys give pink roses to show their love and affection for a female and girls love wearing pink., but so do guys.
Males wear pink daily, in the office setting in casual settings, just about everywhere, just check the most famous online mail order website and you will find more than 8,000 listings for men's pink shirts!
If your boy responds well to pink pastels, use them in his bedroom. According to Forbes, bright pink is actually less stimulating than it appears: it's used to paint locker rooms and some "mediation" spaces in business because it's thought to calm down our responses.
If it's good enough for meditation spaces in offices as a calming effect then go the whole hog and paint from ceiling to floor. If you find it overwhelmingly pink, tone down the pink for the ceiling with some white paint so it takes the glare away from the white but is still visible a pink tone.
Ditch # ffffff it's too close to white and will make your child's eyes tired and he may become agitated with his particular hex tone.
It is said that soft orange tones create an environment where autistic children feel safe and secure. It may seem somewhat counterintuitive but if your autistic child responds well then it's a great color to choose.
You could introduce a dark tone into the bedroom that these shades of pastel orange would contrast with perfectly, it is suggested that dark walls are also a reasonable choice for an autistic child.
Aquamarine is a cool color in a bedroom and psychologists say Aquamarine inspires feelings of relaxation, weightlessness, and purity. This cool tranquil blue promotes peacefulness & trust, inspires patience, and also helps to calm the senses. It's just the ticket for a calm bedroom.
If you have doubts about a pastel color despite the research then check how your child responds to the color, buy a sample pot of the color paint, and paint a piece of cardboard for the full effect, if the child's response is perfect then go for it.
Again remove whites and colors that cause distress from the bedroom.
Moving to what you may consider ad more earthy neutral tones which can bring some depth to a bedroom and have traditionally always been associated with being calming and grounding.
Psychologists say earth tones are also considered to be more appealing and functional and tend to be perceived as warm, reassuring, and settling. Earth tones are most commonly used in areas that are frequented a lot, such as living rooms and family rooms.
It may be more than your autistic child's bedroom that needs a color change and these earthy tones will give a Mexican nino Nina vibe to the child's bedroom, you can have some cool neutral tones that would allow you to introduce some wonderful accessories for your child, every kid loves sombrero, so put one on the wall, it's a plaything and decor.
Consider an accent wall with these shades, they have wonderful earthy tones and if your child responds well to the color you may be using it in your living room!
Keep accessories toned down so as not to stimulate the child so much at bedtime.
It's hard not to be drawn to lavender, not because it's first in the lineup of pastel colors but because it has an outstanding beauty that would look perfect in any bedroom setting.
Phycologists say lavender is the color that is mentally associated with healing, relaxation, cleanliness, and purity. The lavender color encourages calmness and tranquility of mind and is useful for both self-reflection and invoking a relaxed, meditative state.
If psychology has it correct then this must be the ultimate color for an autistic child's bedroom, why would you consider anything else? You can naturally assume because we are all different and respond in different ways to varying stimuli.
There are some terrific color combinations here s o consider an accent wall with the lavender and then maybe other walls blue with the ceiling lavender.
If you are resisting the pastel shades then keep it calm and neutral. Again assess the white shade, it may not be quite acceptable to a young child with autism.
Psychologists say Neutrals like beige and gray can also make you feel calm. The fewer colors you combine and the simpler and pared back a design is, the more calming it will feel.
For some of you, this will be music to your ears. Neutral tones can be calming to young people who are sensory sensitive and with this muted color palette, it's hard not to make a child's bedroom a relaxing haven of tranquility.
An accent wall would look perfect in the light gray, it is a modern color and is used prolifically in bedroom decor. One of the other colors would make the perfect contact with light gray but steer clear of the almost white color, it may trigger some sensitivity issues in the child.
It may be a case of trial and error to find the most relaxing color your autistic child responds to. Still, there are a lot of choices, and many of the colors represented here would make perfect colors for any bedroom, so try not to get hung up on whether your child needs special colors.
Keep in mind soft furnishing, once the decor has been addressed, drapes should be neutral colors and have black outlinings, chinks of light will wake your child early and prevent early sleep.
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