RE: OT: Yellow Obsession

[Guest guest]

Yes, indeed, my grandson, AKA " Sponge Bob Ben, " is obsessed with the color

yellow. I

think it has to do with 1) Sponge Bob is yellow; 2) this is a bit far-out but

seems to be

accurate--different " chakras " have different colors traditionally associated

with them, and

" yellow " is the performance/competency one. This is an interesting if somewhat

of an

Eastern medical theory...in Western terms, our just turned 5 kids (Ben was born

3/21/01)

are switching from the time when the main developmental issue is the development

of

basic trust, to the time for them when the basic issue is competence. Of

course, if this is

threatened because of their special needs and they feel inadequate, the

obsession is all

the stronger.

Hope this doesn't sound too crazy...I was struck by the resonance with our

experience.

Peace,

Kathy E.

Kathleen_E@...

>

> This is a little off-topic but I am curious if anyone else's children are

obsessed with the

color yellow the way my son is. He is turning 5 in a few days. At his IEP the

other day, his

teacher told me that she has several other students (with special needs) that

are stuck on

yellow the way he is. I never knew that anyone else was like that! Whenever he

can have a

choice of something yellow (cup, plate, toothbrush, crayon, etc) that's what he

chooses

and gets upset if he is made to take a different color item. For a long time at

school that

is all he would write with, even when asked to try a new color. He's gotten a

little better

but is still pretty obsessed.

>

> Just curious!! Makes me wonder if maybe there's a research study in there

somewhere.

>

> ~

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

My 5 year old verbally apraxic son has loved the color yellow ever since he

could demonstrate a visual preference. He used to have tantrums if he

didn't get his color for everything, plates, bowls, spoons, toys, blocks,

etc. However, as he has gotten older, we discovered that he will settle for

red or orange if available. We also use the " naughty chair " timeout method

for these types of insistences when he is not sharing with his little

brothers. His pre-K teacher commented that he has to sit on the yellow

circle, picks all of the yellow toys out of the groups of toys, and always

requests yellow if it is a choice. So, at times, it has been a problem both

at home and at school. Just as he is obsessed with yellow, he is obsessed

with the Tank engine. This has been an expensive obsession, but we

have also been able to use it as a reward system. He was a late potty

trainer, and he was trained by using his obsessions as rewards. As he has

gotten older, he has added new areas of interest with less degree of

obsession. I think it is somewhat related to how much control he has over

his world. The less control (when younger) the greater the degree of

obsession, while having more control with improved communication skills, the

less the degree of obsession. He is now able to compromise and accept other

colors, and he rarely needs his naughty chair time outs. At times, I think

I can tell how his day is going and how his mood is, just by the degree of

flexibility he has with his obsessions.

As for research studies on the color yellow as an obsession, I never thought

to look into that! My husband was diagnosed with dyslexia and was " speech

delayed " described as unintelligible until well into elementary school. I

wonder if he, too, was apraxic. I predict that my son will struggle with

dyslexia, as well. I wonder if the color yellow, as a preference, may have

something to do with his visual processing system.

Thanks for posing your question/curiosity. Maybe there should be some

research on this, if there isn't any, already! Tara

_____

From:

[mailto: ] On Behalf Of and Lee

Sent: Thursday, May 04, 2006 10:35 AM

Undisclosed-Recipient:;

Subject: [ ] OT: Yellow Obsession

This is a little off-topic but I am curious if anyone else's children are

obsessed with the color yellow the way my son is. He is turning 5 in a few

days. At his IEP the other day, his teacher told me that she has several

other students (with special needs) that are stuck on yellow the way he is.

I never knew that anyone else was like that! Whenever he can have a choice

of something yellow (cup, plate, toothbrush, crayon, etc) that's what he

chooses and gets upset if he is made to take a different color item. For a

long time at school that is all he would write with, even when asked to try

a new color. He's gotten a little better but is still pretty obsessed.

Just curious!! Makes me wonder if maybe there's a research study in there

somewhere.

~

[Guest guest]

My 5 year old verbally apraxic son has loved the color yellow ever

since he could demonstrate a visual preference. He used to have

tantrums if he didn't get his color for everything, plates, bowls,

spoons, toys, blocks, etc. However, as he has gotten older, we

discovered that he will settle for red or orange if available. We

also use the " naughty chair " timeout method for these types of

insistences when he is not sharing with his little brothers. His

pre-K teacher commented that he has to sit on the yellow circle,

picks all of the yellow toys out of the groups of toys, and always

requests yellow if it is a choice. So, at times, it has been a

problem both at home and at school. Just as he is obsessed with

yellow, he is obsessed with the Tank engine. This has been

an expensive obsession, but we have also been able to use it as a

reward system. He was a late potty trainer, and he was trained by

using his obsessions as rewards. As he has gotten older, he has

added new areas of interest with less degree of obsession. I think

it is somewhat related to how much control he has over his world.

The less control (when younger) the greater the degree of obsession,

while having more control with improved communication skills, the

less the degree of obsession. He is now able to compromise and

accept other colors, and he rarely needs his naughty chair time

outs. At times, I think I can tell how his day is going and how his

mood is, just by the degree of flexibility he has with his

obsessions.

As for research studies on the color yellow as an obsession, I never

thought to look into that! My husband was diagnosed with dyslexia

and was " speech delayed " described as unintelligible until well into

elementary school. I wonder if he, too, was apraxic. I predict

that my son will struggle with dyslexia, as well. I wonder if the

color yellow, as a preference, may have something to do with his

visual processing system.

Thanks for posing your question/curiosity. Maybe there should be

some research on this, if there isn't any, already! Tara

>

> This is a little off-topic but I am curious if anyone else's

children are obsessed with the color yellow the way my son is. He

is turning 5 in a few days. At his IEP the other day, his teacher

told me that she has several other students (with special needs)

that are stuck on yellow the way he is. I never knew that anyone

else was like that! Whenever he can have a choice of something

yellow (cup, plate, toothbrush, crayon, etc) that's what he chooses

and gets upset if he is made to take a different color item. For a

long time at school that is all he would write with, even when asked

to try a new color. He's gotten a little better but is still pretty

obsessed.

>

> Just curious!! Makes me wonder if maybe there's a research study

in there somewhere.

>

> ~

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I'm coming in late on this one so not sure if anyone mentioned this

yet, but my son Tanner's obsession with the color blue I was told

was sensory. I have in the archives how normally calm Tanner would

have melt downs here and there for what seemed like no reason at the

time. These were all prior to him speaking and even prior to his

diagnosis so back then nobody had any idea. We'd walk into a

supermarket and as soon as we got through the doors his body would

stiffen, and he would scream in a high pitched scream like someone

was sticking a pin in him while his face turned red and his eyes

bulged wide. People would stare at me like " what are you doing to

that baby " My sister who is certified as a nanny would be with me

at times and at other times he would do this in front of my Aunt

Leona who is a PhD in nursing. Nobody could figure it out. Try to

hand him his bottle and he'd throw it, we'd rush him back to the car

to check his body to see if he got stung by a bug, had a hair

wrapped around a toe, anything.

Do I know for sure what it was that set him off each of those

times? No. I agree however it may have been sensory. Years

later from the earliest incidents Tanner was diagnosed with sensory

integration dysfunction. He had obvious sensory issues in regards

to touch where he wouldn't cry or even flinch at a shot, but would

if you patted his head softly or tried to tickle him.

Not sure why blue was the color for Tanner but as I said in the

archives for him it HAD to be " the blue cup " It is possible and

perhaps even probably it has to do with certain colors or textures

being comforting to those affected with sensory issues. Tanner was

never given therapy specifically for sensory issues of color, but

can tell you that even though he still prefers the color blue, he

will dress himself in all colors, including yellow. He has no

preference at all for any cup, dish, or anything that I can think

of now. The touch aspect is mainly resolved other than a few things

that most probably wouldn't even catch. Thing is today I can say to

Tanner, " that's your sensory issue being a bit off Tanner, you are

old enough to know that now " And thing is, at 9, he may not feel

that way literally, but mentally he does.

Melt downs over colors? This too shall pass.

=====

[Guest guest]

I don't know a whole lot about this, but there are theories about the

psychological effects of color (blue is calming, yellow stimulating...)

so maybe that's what attracts kids; maybe they're getting some sort of

feedback from the colors that they need. Of course, lots of kids

fixate on colors or other such things. I have a couple of friends

whose (typical) boys are OBSESSED with the Tank Engine.

>

> My 4 year old Apraxic son is also obsessed with yellow, everything he

asks

> for has to be yellow, I think it's very interesting that our children

are

> obsessed with yellow. also has Sensory Integration

Dysfunction, (sensory

> seeking) I wonder if this has something to do with it. Take Care,

and

> thanks for sharing. Dana NJ

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Phyllis,

My friends' kids are younger, about 2 and a half, but I don't think

it's odd that a 5 yr old would be into it too. Little boys do seem

to love trains (and some big ones too! There are grown up men who

collect trains and really get into it). I think I played with

Barbies for a long time, till like 12 maybe? I have no idea if

that's normal-lol. I still really love to play with legos and play

doh--with my child of course . And if it makes you feel any

better, my husband is still obsessed with Star Wars toys, except he

gets to call himself a " collector. "

One other observation: I think kids get exposed to media

entertainment very early in life, so that characters like the

Tank Engine become " obsessions " of very young children. For

children who don't watch a lot of TV or play computer games very

much, they might not get into those popular characters till later.

A 5 yr old is still very young, still open to fantasy and make

believe. I wouldn't want to hurry the end to that chapter; it's

such a short, sweet time!

>

> Hi I read where you wrote " I have a couple of friends

> whose (typical) boys are OBSESSED with the Tank Engine.

My son is

> not obsessed with colors, but he is with and all his

friends. I was

> just wondering how old your friend's boys are? My son is five and

I was

> wondering if he is too old to be this obsessed with these trains.

He has been for

> about a year now. He plays with him appropriately - but loves

them.. just

> thought I might get an idea about the age appropriateness to still

play with

> . Thanks Phyllis