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Did you know that coloring books are used to aid patients who are recovering from strokes? The therapeutic benefit of coloring is indeed remarkable. How about a pixel color number app? Can it bring the same advantages? 

Our apps, Fashion Pixel Art and Color by Numbers, contain artworks with numbered pixels that match colors in their palettes. This way, you can easily fill them with color. Our users like them because they’re fun, relaxing, and entertaining. But how can they help people with intellectual disabilities, particularly? 

In this post, we answered that question by listing the benefits of using a pixel color number app. We also talked about intellectual disabilities and color therapy briefly. 

Intellectual Disabilities 

What are Intellectual Disabilities (ID)?

Intellectual Disabilities refer to limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behavior. That means they have difficulties in learning, reasoning, or socializing. The levels of IDs can be mild, moderate, severe, and profound. 

Moreover, having IDs is different from having developmental disabilities. The former focuses on the thought process of a person, while the latter is more general and often severe. Developmental disabilities also encompass physical disabilities. 

A person can have both intellectual and developmental disabilities. This condition is called Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD), which means a person has more than one disability. They may have nervous system, sensory system, metabolism, and degenerative disorders.

As a result, their physical, emotional, and intellectual development will be delayed. People typically start having this type of condition before they turn 18 years old. 

Signs of mild intellectual disabilities in adults

As mentioned, developmental and intellectual disabilities can usually show up at an early age.  The earlier they get diagnosed, the better they can improve their growth.

However, some people who have IDs don’t get diagnosed until they’re adults. As a result, their improvement is slow, which affects their personal and social growth. Here are the signs of mild intellectual disabilities in adults:

• Problems in memory and paying attention 
• Difficulty in finding and retaining jobs for a long time
• Poor social skills
• Low confidence and self-esteem
• Dependent on assistance

How are intellectual disabilities treated?

The good news is that intellectual disabilities don’t always have to be life-long conditions. Through a number of therapies, the quality of life of a person with intellectual disabilities can improve.

Intellectual disabilities can be treated by occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy. In pediatric occupational therapy, coloring, particularly coloring by number, is one of the activities that improve fine motor skills and visual perception. 

What is color therapy?  

Also known as chromotherapy, color therapy helps people with disabilities relieve mental health distress through colors. The principle of this therapy is that colors can trigger positive emotional responses in people. In turn, this helps people with disabilities cope and channel their energy into doing daily activities.

Color therapy coincides with art therapy. Both can involve coloring activities such as color yoga, coloring book activities, art workshops, and even acupuncture that uses colored light frequencies. 

Can color therapy help people with intellectual disabilities? 

The short answer is yes. As we’ve mentioned, the power of color lies in its ability to evoke positive responses. If your child has an intellectual disability that makes their personality quiet or unmotivated, you can use color to motivate them. For example, yellow and orange are known to have an energizing effect on anyone who sees them. 

Color therapy can also be in the form of activities. Using coloring books and apps, such as a pixel color number app, can help people with intellectual disabilities regain their focus slowly. 

Benefits of using a pixel color number app to people with intellectual disabilities

Do you have a loved one with an intellectual disability? You will need to learn more about it, be more patient, and encourage independence, and connect with a community. How can a pixel color number app help you with those? Here’s how. 

1. A pixel color number app helps them focus. 

Coloring itself has great intellectual benefits. When a person colors, the frontal lobes of their brain, which focuses on concentration, light up. It’s especially true when the drawing has intricate details. In our pixel color number apps, you can also find pixel art with fun, challenging details in different categories. 

Now, if you’re helping a loved one practice their ability to focus, a pixel color number app can also help them. How? Coloring a pixel drawing on a phone is easy to learn. For example, in our pixel color number app, Color by Numbers, they can just tap the matching color on the palette and then fill in the matching numbered pixels on the drawing. 

With this simple learning curve, they can concentrate more on coloring instead of learning how the app actually works. As a result, their ability to focus will improve. 

Read: Improve Concentration with Color by Number Apps

 

2. It helps them gain a sense of independence. 

Gaining independence is one of the most important feats for people with mild to moderate IDs. According to this study, people with IDs do need support from their family and friends, but they are more eager to become independent. 

Now, if you have a relative with IDs, you can foster their independence by introducing them to a pixel color number app. By using a pixel color number app, their Need for Achievement (n-Ach) can grow, which can have a positive effect on their sense of independence. 

n-Ach is an individual’s desire to improve skills and achieve accomplishments. If a person has a low n-Ach, they are more likely to choose easy tasks to avoid mistakes or disappointment. On the other hand, if a person has a high n-Ach, they will seek challenging but attainable activities. 

The mechanics of using a pixel color number app is indeed easy to learn. However, it can still include challenging drawings that need concentration and meticulous attention. Therefore, as a person with mild to moderate IDs complete more drawings on a pixel color number app, they will also feel more confident. 

They will realize that they can take challenges with their own unique abilities and despite their constraints. Their n-Ach will grow, and as a result, their sense of independence will flourish, too. 

This excerpt from the chapter “Intellectual Disability” from the book Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics by Ellen Roy Elias and Allen C.Crocker further echoes our point: 

“If the job is well done within the context of native talents, and if the pursuit of referenced happiness and best quality of life is honored, the measured features of performance seem less prominent.”

Read: Coloring By Numbers App with Detailed and Complicated Designs 

3. A pixel color number app can improve their mood.

People with intellectual disabilities are more prone to depression. Because of their incapacity to function normally like other people, they tend to get overwhelmed and upset. This, in turn, impairs their self-esteem, which can eventually lead to mental disorders like depression. How can a pixel color number app improve their mood?

Because it’s so easy to access, a pixel color number app can help eliminate the triggers of depression—boredom, stress, and disorder. In just one tap, a person can already start coloring a cute pixel drawing. They won’t need to prepare a desk or gather coloring materials that will eventually run out. 

See, a pixel color number app will help them get out of boredom by entertaining them with simple to challenging pixel art drawings. It will eliminate their stress with fun, adorkable items. There’s also structure because each drawing is categorized on the app. 

Read: Coloring Gallery: Ideas on How to Display Your Color by Numbers App Creations Online 

Other color therapy activities for people with intellectual disabilities

Besides using a pixel color number app, people who are coping with intellectual disabilities can also consider these color therapy activities: 

Color light therapy

Color light therapy is the method of using LED light to alleviate wellness and cosmetic issues. It’s based on different ancient healing methods from China, Egypt, and India that uses color to heal ailments. Today, color light therapy is used to provide therapeutic relief to chronic pain and depression. 

Color Yoga 

Color therapy can also be incorporated into Yoga. You can use colors along with a yoga activity to alleviate your current state of being. For example, if you want mental energy and stimulation, you can surround yourself with yellow things as you do yoga poses. Yellow apparently helps in arousing a higher mentality. 

Coloring book activities 

Coloring books for adults have been trending in recent years. They are well-known to have calming effects on adults’ moods. Their assets are highly intricate patterns such as the Manadala, which is theorized to represent the human’s unconscious mind. 

Art workshops for adults 

Last but not least are art workshops. If you can keep a distance but still manage to do a coloring activity together, invite your friends to paint or color drawings in your spare time. You can go to the park, for example, and practice sketching any item that inspires you. 

Conclusion 

People are unique. However, people with intellectual disabilities can look just like you and me. If normal people can enjoy artistic expression, they can do it, too. One of the best and most convenient ways to help them enjoy that is by using a pixel color number app. 

Related questions 

Can you turn a photo into a paint by number?

Yes, there are sites that convert photos to paint by number drawings such as Winnie’s Picks: Premium Paint by Numbers Kits. 

What is the best app for coloring?

Our coloring apps, iColor app, Fashion Pixel Art, and Color by Numbers have hundreds of free high-quality drawings waiting to be filled with colors. iColor app is available on iOS and Android. Fashion Pixel Art and Color by Numbers are only available on iOS at the moment. 

Try two of our pixel color number apps today!

Fashion Pixel Art and Color by Numbers are free to download on iOS today. Every month, we add new pixel artworks in different categories for you to enjoy. Not only are they relaxing but also intellectually stimulating. Simply, they give you satisfaction with less effort. 

Try them now!enjoy