Atypical Color Preference in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

So far, virtually no study has ever investigated colour preference in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In order to address this issue, 29 boys with ASD varying in age between 4 and 17 years, and 38 age-matched typically-developing (TD) boys were studied regarding their preference among six colours: red, pink, yellow, brown, green, and blue. When mean rank of preference was computed in each of the ASD and TD groups with regard to each colour, it was found that ASD boys were significantly less likely than TD boys to prefer yellow and more likely than TD boys to prefer green and brown colours. These results appear to be caused by hyper-sensation characterisic of ASD, by which boys with this disorder perceive yellow as being sensory-overloading.