Coloured Filters and Autism Ranking:

Future Research

Summary of Existing Research

There is no research evidence to suggest that coloured lenses are useful for autistic people with visual processing difficulties or visual stress.

There is some very limited, low quality research evidence to suggest that coloured overlays could be useful for some autistic children and young people with a range of problems including difficulties with reading and recognition of emotions in other people. 

This lack of evidence does not prove or disprove the effectiveness of coloured lenses for autistic people. It simply shows how little research has been conducted to date.

Recommendations for Future Research

Small-scale, pilot trials of the effects of coloured filters could be carried out on autistic individuals to determine their effectiveness and safety. 

Updated

16 Jun 2022

Last Review

01 Apr 2016

Next Review

01 Sep 2022