Synaesthetes can experience plain letters and numbers in colour

• Child synaesthetes ‘see’ letters and numbers differently to classmates
• Helps teachers spot children with synaesthesia
• Avoids misdiagnosis with autism spectrum disorder

Neuroscientists at the University of Sussex have developed a simple test that can spot synaesthesia in children as young as six years old.

Synaesthesia can be described as a merging of the senses that causes people to experience what they see, hear and feel in an unusual ways. Until recently, most research into this neurological condition has been conducted on adults.

Professor Julia Simner, who leads the MULTISENSE team that developed the new test said: “Although it’s rare in the population as a whole, synaesthesia is more common than people think. Every primary school in the UK has an average of two or three children with the most commonly found forms of synaesthesia that affect how they perceive numbers and letters.”

At a critical time in their educational development, child synaesthetes might perceive plain black text in technicolour, or see a sequence of numbers as individual personalities, for example.

While that sounds like it could be fun for a child, it can also present challenges for parents and educators who might confuse what the child is experiencing as dyslexia, dyscalculia or autism.

With the support of a grant from the European Research Council (ERC), Professor Julia Simner is developing an easy-to-use App based diagnosis kit, SYN-TOOLKIT, that clinicians and educators can use to test school children for two of the most common of synaesthesia: Grapheme Colour Synaesthesia, when letters and numbers are perceived in full colour; and Sequence-Personality Synaesthesia, when a sequence of digits is seen as a collection of personalities, like a group of people, for example.

Professor Simner said: “Our research team tested 3,500 children between the ages of 6 and 11 years’ old, in years 2, 3, 4 and 5 in 22 schools in East and West Sussex to develop a screen-based test that the children find easy to use. The generous ERC grant means we can now develop this simple test into an App that can be used in schools, so that clinicians and teachers can easily identify children with two of the most common forms of synaesthesia.

“Being able to identify these common forms of synaesthesia at a young age will help to demystify it for children and their parents. We hope that will make it easier for them to understand why they experience letters and numbers differently to other children. And when schools can spot children with synaesthesia, they’ll be able to make sure they get the support they need to flourish in the classroom.”

Work to build the SYN-TOOLKIT App begins later this year. The test to identify child synaesthetes is already being used by researchers at the University of Sussex and the App will make the simple test accessible to clinicians, teachers and schools all around the world.

The European Research Council’s Proof of Concept grant for the SYN-TOOLKIT App builds on an original five-year research grant to fund Professor Simner’s MULTISENSE research project at the University of Sussex.

Acknowledging the importance of the award, Professor Simner said: “We’re incredibly grateful to the European Research Council for its ongoing support, which is the largest grant ever to be awarded to synaesthesia research. This generous support from ERC is having a real impact on peoples’ lives as we expand our knowledge and understanding of synaesthesia in all its forms.”