special relationship with colour

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My daughter has a very particular way with colour.

People have colours.

Numbers have colours.

Days of the week, months have colours.

They stay the same and I would be surprised if she actually 'remembered' all the colours of things in her head as she always says the same colour for the same thing. For example, 3 is always yellow, 4 is always green. 9 is a shade of purple. I am always orange with a hint of blue - like the orangey-blue of fire.

This can create discord or harmony. For example it is hard to decide something is going to be a certain age (in a game) when the age doesn't match the colour of the object that is being aged. It is hard to dress if the day of the week doesn't match the colours of the clothes etc.

It might sound like total mumble jumble, just wondering if anyone can relate?

Sounds like synesthesia.

Color synesthesia maybe? That could be half of it. The obsessions you mention, having certain colors appropriate to certain contexts, is a trait I have. I always imagined that it was a symptom of OCD, although it could also stem from an autistic need for routine. There is a sense of safety in matching colors to suit the occasion and in avoiding "bad" colors. I won't touch mint green, for example. I can only imagine the difficulty in complying with the system if you also have to deal with colors overlaying colors.

^^ oh my gosh it has a name, thank you, off to research!

I find it hard to tell at this juncture if she has OCD or if it is just the rituals and repetitions of being autistic. For example, she calls a whole range of her stims "checks" and she definetely has lots of rituals about things. She is only 8 though.

I can't find much, there was a 2013 study that suggests Synaesthesia is 3 times more common in autism than in control groups.

She is absolutely amazingly creative and produces beautiful art way above her age. I wonder if it is linked somehow.

Yes, that is synesthesia. I saw a book called "Blue Cats and Chartreuse Kittens." I keep meaning to read it, but never got around to checking it out at the library.

Yes, it's synesthesia. It's just her unique way of expiriencing the world. Can help her making great art
My husband has a slight number-color synesthesia. Helps him remembering numbers.
My mind translates almost anything to textures and structures.
Nothing to worry about. Some may find it weird but those links to colors may actually help her to learn and remember things.

I have a very special relationship with colours.

elsapelsa,

Good news for your daughter! The idea of a penpal sounds great!

I totally relate.

When I started school numbers had color. And gender as well. One is neuter, two was a cute little baby number vaguely cool colored (my sister was two when I was in first grade), three is orange and is a messy faced obnoxious tottler vaguely a little girl, four is green,five is gray and neuter, Six is red outlined in black (sorta "my' number because I was six years old in first grade when I first had to think about numbers), seven is yellow and feminine, eight is green and feminine (its even kinda shaped like a girl), Nine is the "mom" number and is the second in command (reddish orangish in color- its a mulitple of three), and ten is black (a multiple of the gray five) and is the stern father figure in charge of the numbers.

It just kinda came to me that way back in first grade.Helped me a lot to learn arithmatic. Still helps me to do math in my head.

For other grapheme-colour synaesthetes it can be disconcerting to read things like "4 is green". I mean, it's clearly blue and your daughter is wrong