Describing color to the blind

As someone who has had good functional vision, I have had the pleasure and privilege of having been able to identify color. But how could I describe color to someone who has never been able to see at all? This is the question that I posed to my late music teacher, Morris Connor, and I remember asking him if he had any preconceived notions about what colors looked like.

Without hesitation he told me no and that everything was just very black to him. I am not sure if this could be a general statement when it comes to how someone who has never had vision views things. I am not sure then how I could describe color to a totally blind person who has never seen.

You can tell them that red is like a rose and they can then feel the rose and make the relationship. Or that grass is green and they could touch a blade of grass and relate to the color green. The same for things like snow, dried leaves, and so on. However, there is more than this to the description of color.

I'm Donna J. Jodhan, your friendly accessibility advocate, wishing you a terrific day and inviting you to go out there and share my blogs with others. Stop by and visit me at www.sterlingcreations.ca.