Hot Pink for an Aspie?

Filed under:Other — posted by admin on June 3, 2008 @ 2:11 pm

We recently painted my Aspie son’s room what we thought was a soothing and calming colour. We picked a field green, with a darker shade of green on one wall. It had the opposite affect on him. Do you have any colour suggestions that are calming? He is 12 years old and wants his room hot pink.

Children with autism sometimes have highly altered sensory sensitivity to the environment. Sounds, smells, touch, colors, or light are experienced much more intensely than other children experience them, even causing physical pain. When there are a lot of different stimuli, this becomes overwhelming, for example when there are many pictures on a wall, and can cause anxiety. This leads to stress, confusion, and anxiety, which may have a negative impact on behavior.

Environmental stimuli, such as paint color and pictures, can stimulate or calm behavior. Usually green is the color of balance and calm. In your son’s case, it obviously isn’t. Calming, muted colors in soft tones, not bright, primary colors, are recommended for people with Aspergers. Neutral beige is also often calming. There is little advice beyond this regarding paint colors for children who have Asperger’s. To some extent, it may be process of trial and error to find a calming color for your son’s room. Also, avoid florescent or bright lights in the room as the buzzing and glare can be very upsetting to children with Asperger’s and may be the problem more than the paint colour.

At 12 years old, your son probably would like some input into the color of his room. There are a couple of ways in which you can test paint colors in your son’s room. Before you try these suggestions, explain to your son what you are going to do and make sure he understands his part in the process. His part will be to stay calm while in the room, and, if he does, it will slowly get pinker.

First of all, paint the room pale beige or soft white. After a week, paint one wall only a very, very, soft pink. Explain to your son that as long as he remains calm while in the room, the paint color on that wall will get a little darker each month. If he does well with the soft pink during the first month, paint the same wall a bit darker pink. If he continues to stay calm the next month, try a bit darker pink color. Keep the color no more than medium pink on that one wall. If he can handle that, you could try a narrow strip of hot pink across that wall. Keep stressing that he must work to stay calm if he wants his room pink. That puts responsibility on him to earn the color he wants.

If he can’t handle even the very, very, soft pink wall, then keep the room beige or white and try hanging pictures or posters (one at a time) in pink colors. Again, as long as he remains calm in the room, the pictures stay. If he loses his calm, the pictures or posters can be removed for a period of time. Again, the responsibility for keeping them depends on his behavior.

Thanks

Dave Angel

comments (36)

36 comments »

My daughter is eleven and we have painted her room blue, (not bright like a sky blue, but a couple of shades darker), with bright green accents: curtains, comforter, etc. She says it’s calming for her. The texture of the curtains is very soft. I found it very helpful to take my daughter to a paint store or department and let her look at the various shades.

Comment by Monika Smutniak — June 3, 2008 @ 2:46 pm
I teach middle school and the “in” color for boys is a bright/hot pink. That may be why her son wants pink.

Comment by Ashley Baker — June 3, 2008 @ 3:04 pm
ust wanted too say great info am at the moment painting sons bedroom as well what i found helpfully was his involement in ever detail .My son Loves Blue ( i find blus cold ) he finds it calming so we painted room white to start now we have one blue wall and the next one will be done by end of week . As moment my son is happy and contect with what we have done so far hopefully it will stay that way ( fingers crosssed )

Comment by Chelle — June 3, 2008 @ 4:03 pm
My aspie goth daughter had helped to paint her bedroom blk and red and she loves it but also loves the way it totally freaks anyone out when they are allowed to go in for a visit!!!!!she is 14 going on 20 and loves whitby and dracula and being scary, on the outside anyway !!!

Comment by Ms Jill Stalmach Kynaston — June 3, 2008 @ 4:18 pm
In our old house, my almost 13 year old son’s room was blue and yellow. he must have liked it as he never said he didn’t. In our new house, his room is a very soothing shade of brown. He has not requested to have it repainted, thank goodness, he spends lots of time in there playing with light sabres and such. He is very sensitive
to sounds. I love this web-site. So nice to know as a parent of an aspie, that I am not alone. thanks, Sue Orr

Comment by Sue Orr — June 3, 2008 @ 5:04 pm
My aspie is 9 years old and if he wanted a hot pink room I would give it to him. Sometimes it is best to let the kids choose – it helps them have a sense that you trust them and that they are capable of making decisions in their lives. The great thing about paint is that it can always be painted over with another color! My son’s room is navy blue and I’m talking so dark navy that even the light in the room doesn’t help sometimes. I have suggested that we lighten it up a bit but he likes his room the way it is and so I live with the darkness of the room. It’s one of the battles I don’t have to fight.

Comment by Julie — June 3, 2008 @ 5:36 pm
How wonderful to get such detailed advice on something that to everyone else is such a simple task.Choose a colour and paint the room!! We are just starting to redecorate our 12 year old aspies bedroom and will use your advice all the way.Many thanks Dave, D.Booth.

Comment by D.Booth — June 3, 2008 @ 5:55 pm
Before my aspie son was old enough to talk, he would get elated when around the color yellow. We took him to a Chuys’ Mexican restaurant in Austin,TX and they sat us in a yellow dining room. After seated, he stood up and shouted as loud as he could, “LELLOW”. That was the first time he said Yellow (pronounced it “lellow”). He still likes it, but is very particular about other colors. This article makes perfect sense.

Comment by DeeDee — June 3, 2008 @ 6:06 pm
My son is now 13 but still loves his bedroom, I painted the bottom half with mid green colour as grass and the top half including the ceiling with blue as sky and on the ceiling painted white clouds the cupboards were painted as a castle. This being on now for approx 5 years it needs redoing and I’m just wondering what else to do being as his obessions with castles has also changed and wanting something older for him, I will have to see what time ideas will bring to me but one thing with me they will never be plain coloured walls hehe

Comment by Ms A Taylor — June 3, 2008 @ 6:20 pm
My Aspie Son 14 Loves HOT pink! Dad had to paint his bathroom Hot Pink, when he was about 5 we had to paint his bedroom pink, then he wanted BRIGHT green. Good thing Dad liked to paint!
My Sons bedroom is DARK Blue ( he wanted black ) Dad said NO! So it is DARK DARK Blue with Red Carpet and acents….
It seems some of these kids have the same taste in colors!

Comment by Patty — June 3, 2008 @ 6:29 pm
i have read all of your articles you have emailed me and it sounds so much like my soon to be 13 year old i am having him tested june 12 hopefully i can get the help for him that he truly deserves thankyou so much jodi monday

Comment by jodi monday — June 3, 2008 @ 7:25 pm
I would keep the room neutral. My sons favourite colour is red…. I cant imagine a red room. SO we compromised and he has a bed with red striped on it. A quilt cover in blue with red flowers and red lampshades. If he wants to see red, then we just switch on the lamps and it gives the room a red glow without permanently paiting the walls. Try this for hot pink…. Go for the hot pink light shades, or even hot pink lightbulbs. You can buy these and they support breast cancer and a lot easier to change in the future.

Comment by Liz Ellis — June 3, 2008 @ 8:50 pm
My Aspie son has always loved the color hot pink. He also has laser lights, lava lamps, posters, etc. He knows what he likes and dislikes and we have never had a problem. I have to admit I didn’t think I could handle a totally hot pink room, so he painted a couple of the walls in his second favorite color…bright turquoise! lol He loves it, and if it makes him happy then I’m happy!

Comment by Donna — June 3, 2008 @ 9:23 pm
just a question. we’re new at this and we’re looking for financial help or a medical grant or something of the sort to send our aspie daughter to a therapy camp that uses horses this summer(coastal horse sense) and we have no idea where or how to begin thanks in advance for any info

shannon

Comment by shannon — June 3, 2008 @ 10:36 pm
Before you gasp in shock at the color choice of hot pink, be sure that your son is not color blind. My 7 y.o. color blind Aspie cannot distinguish between pink and gray–they look identical to him. He often chooses pink toys and crayons because he cannot tell the difference. It’s possible that such an extraordinary color choice might be due to a child’s inability to distinguish certain colors. What screams headache-inducing-1980’s-Debbie Gibson to you might be a soothing, calming shade of gray to him. Just a thought.

Comment by Janie Harrington — June 4, 2008 @ 12:00 am
Hi,

If you have ever read Liane Holliday Willey’s first book, you will know that she cannot stand washed out colours. Wendy Lawson has also documented a need for brightness. I like rich colours too. They define spaces much better than pastels. The experiments on wall colour were done for learning environments where the child is assaulted with invasive stimuli from the learning materials. In a bedroom, where familiar and safe things surround a person, colour would be a very different and personal thing.
I have AS. I would forget painting the room white and then all the stages of pink. This house had pale pink walls and they really stressed me out even though pale pink is used in prisons because it is emotionally draining. If the pale pink really upset him then he would never get to experience the colour he really wants. I suggest paint one wall at a time and he should be involved in the painting so that the new wall is not shocking. If you find 4 bright walls too much, suggest that the others be dark blue. That gives richness, makes the room feel very safe and balances the brightness of the pink. it would be more important to make sure that the fabrics used are not “busy” and that belongings are stowed away to give an uncluttered look. A lot of autistic people like Japanese decor because of its simplicity. Very soothing.

Comment by auntyjack — June 4, 2008 @ 3:06 am
My son’s (7) favourite colour is also red; so he asked me to paint his room red. I painted the one wall rusty red and the rest of the walls beige with pinkish tint & he loves it! Rusty duvet cover with rich brown stripes & wooden louvre blinds & floors – the room looks quite nice… he had a choice of navy blue or red school jersey at his school and you guessed correctly he choose the red!

Comment by Paula — June 4, 2008 @ 5:01 am
My 13 year old son also loves anything red-clothes,bed linen,walls,furniture. Is there something about this colour that is soothing to kids with Aspergers?

Comment by Alison Read — June 4, 2008 @ 5:39 am
I want to first thank you for this blog, and thank everyone with their comments. What a huge help. I am in the process of assisting my Aspie (10 yr old boy) pick out paint as well. He chose a blueberry carpet and loves red. His room is currently white, so I will definitely start slowly and paint one wall at a time. Red is so bold, but what he wants.
I guess we will keep our fingers crossed on this one.

Comment by Tanya — June 4, 2008 @ 6:06 am
My son is 17yrs and really loves pink, his Mobile,TV & DVD, stereo and accessories are all pink,all his friends comment on them, which make Josh feel important.I would incourage it!!!

Comment by Leanne — June 4, 2008 @ 6:30 am
When I was pregnant with my son, I was excited about my first baby and painted his entire room in primary colors…I made curtains and quilts and made it all match. I even found a rainbow ceiling fan. I had no idea that all those colors would effect my child so much. As the years went by I slowly learned ways to calm him and the biggest way was repainting his room to a light blue with dark blue trim. It worked wonders for his attitude. To think color caused him pain and how much pain I could have stopped if I had known the rainbow room was driving him crazy. He’s 9 now and I let him pick the colors himself. His obsession is WWI and WWII (and has been since he was 3)so he wanted everything camoflauged but settled for a large throw carpet and his bedding in camo. It soothes him.

Comment by Micki — June 4, 2008 @ 12:12 pm
Great article! My aspie son, age 14, is extremely sensitive to lights, colors, sounds, etc.. So, when we built our house, we used very warm colors throughout so as not to excite him. When he chose his bedroom colors, he wanted a soft gray on his walls and he wanted a solid black comforter with solid black sheets and dark red pillows. He also wanted solid red and black panels for curtains. We have had great success with this color combination! If he seems to be a bit anxious, he will go to his room, which seems to really do a fabulous job of helping him calm down.

Comment by Gigi Ivey — June 4, 2008 @ 2:34 pm
Thank you for all the work the e-mails, blogs, books!!!

Comment by Julie Bliven — June 4, 2008 @ 2:38 pm
We have a recently diagnosed 7 year old Aspie boy (who is crazy about Crash Bandicoot and Gems). Its so interesting to read the bits about colour choice as our sons favourite favourite colour is Yellow!! :0)

Comment by Sharon — June 5, 2008 @ 12:02 am
As an artist and diligent follower of alternative therapies…..I would ask, why resist? Pink is a particularly soothing colour…Many colours are responded to in different ways by the typically developing mind, however if we see a specific, marked response from our children to certain colours, tastes sounds etc I think it wise to act on that…I’d love a hot pink bathroom!

Comment by imogen harris — June 5, 2008 @ 9:18 am
This is the first time I have found anything that has Aspie info. on it. I’m very happy to have somebody to write to. My son is almost 15 yrs. old and I’m finally understanding how to respond to my son the way I should. If any of the parents have teenagers with ASPERGERS I would love to hear any advice you have. Thanks again for allowing this blog to be!!
Sincerely,
Michelle S.

Comment by Michelle Sailors — June 5, 2008 @ 3:22 pm
First I would like to thank everyone for their inputs…it helps me greatly!!! My son is 12 and I have found that although he too likes hot pink right now, color change on his walls sends him over the edge. I have painted my son’s room from eggshell white to a soft gray which is very calming for him(wouldn’t even know it was gray until you look where the walls meet the ceiling) and I use fabric, posters and puzzles (that we put together) to change the colors of his room. For me, this is the cheapest/quickest way to add or take away color as needed/earned. Just a thought, but it might help someone. Also, I keep the different color combinations in a notebook to track his “mood” triggers so that I can better prepare him for his future. Good luck with your color adventures.

Comment by Terri — June 6, 2008 @ 2:52 am
I think my 15 year old aspie has sensitivies to colours, although I didn’t realise it until recently. His school was rebuilt and they helpfully put different colours in different rooms. He would come home telling us about the colours (even though he is colour blind he can usually differentiate between primary colours, just nothing that is in between) and also about how the school made him feel ill (headaches, nausea). I thought it was the smells (new school, floor adhesives etc). He then got so anxious that he refused to go. I didn’t make the connection until recently. Because we had no support for him at his school, and they wouldn’t even assess his needs after his diagnosis, we have had to enrol him in an independent school anyway (at our own cost), which is in a very old building, where the decor could probably be described as “lived in”, and he is much happier there. Although I think there were other factors involved in his refusal to attend his old school, I do now believe that the colours might well have played a big part in his anxieties.

Comment by Michelle — June 6, 2008 @ 5:46 am
ABOUT THE HORSE THEREPY. I LIVE WAY TOO FAR AWAY FROM ANYTHING LIKE THAT, BUT WHEN MY ASPIE GRANDSON EXPRESSED INTEREST IN HORSES I STARTED VOLUNTEERING AT A HORSE RESCUE FARM AND THEY ARE TEACHING US BOTH ALL ABOUT HORSES AND HORSE CARE AND FREE RIDING LESSONS. JOSH LOVES IT AND IS SO HAPPY TO GO THERE. I ALSO AM FEELING GREATLY REWARDED.

Comment by DAWN JONES — June 6, 2008 @ 2:25 pm
Tom’s 6-1/2, loves stars, planets, anything and everything space. His room right now is in is a soft gray with solar system curtains and bedspread but he is insisting on blue walls. What kind of blue I’m not sure . . . but I will let him pick.

I am interested to hear that some Aspies find minimalist decor soothing. Tom’s a “junk-ee” he loves his stuff and wants it out where he can see it. We do succeed in keeping it pretty well organized but he is such a pack rat, I can hardly get him to give/throw anything away.

Comment by TomsMom — June 7, 2008 @ 5:08 pm
Hi my son wanted bright red like a fire engine, We managed a compromise and he got red furnature and curtains instead. It is his favourite colour and he seems clam enough in his room, as a teen he now spends plenty of time there

Comment by andie — June 9, 2008 @ 2:37 am
As much as we do for our wonderful children, I think painting and repainting and repainting a room is quite a bit of work. I agree with other parents that a hot pink accessories might do the trick. Of course, if he really, truly wants his walls hot pink and thinks he can live with them for many years to come, by all means, give him his wish. My 9 year old is constantly making requests for “different” things. I tell him I’ll think about it and that he should too. If he brings it up again, I consider his request to be valid, then we look into it further.

Comment by Heather — October 13, 2009 @ 9:10 am
My 6 year old has always said his favorite color is green, yet when given choices for his clothing, etc., he always chooses red or black,even when coloring or doing art projects. We rent and cannot change the wall colors in our home, so I let him hang posters and choose his bedding to suit his taste.

Comment by Sandra Sherrard — October 23, 2009 @ 8:31 am
Iam the mother of a 13year old girl with aspie and other disabilities she loves the colour pink the brighter the better I did her room in a red burgundy and pink she justs loves it most of her clothes are pink and she feels different in this colour it makes her happy and what makes her happy makes me happy she has a major problem with clutter thou and wont throw anything out at all so it accumulates and then we have a terrible time cleaning it out and it stresses her badly so I what till shes at school sometimes and do hoping she doesnt notice when she gets home.

Comment by penni — October 24, 2009 @ 9:41 pm
My aspie daughter 13 and aspie/HFAutie son 8, share a room. It is a shrine to “sameness” and is the same blue/green with hundred acre wood story book wall mural and winnie pooh bedspreads is it was when my daughter was 3. It was adorable then but I am thinking she needs to move on. But small battle–why bother fighting someone that wants a babyish room. She loves her “baby lamp” and reading rocking in the same rocking chair. My bigger problem is that she INSISTS on us keeping our house blue–or repainting it similiar or brighter blue because it is a happy color and not boring beige like everyone elses. Also, big battle is her need for minimalist decor and non cluttered environment. Hard to do with 4 kids and everyone is a pack rat.

Comment by Kathy Stallings — October 26, 2009 @ 9:39 am
my daughter who is 15 wanted her room a dark blue – i thought it would be awful but it is stunning. i can see now why it works for her it feels cool and i think it helps chill her out.

Comment by Dianne — November 8, 2009 @ 2:48 pm