Braille or Moon?
If you're thinking of learning Moon because you struggle with braille, you may be interested to know that learning Moon has given lots of people greater confidence in their sense of touch, and that many have gone on to learn braille successfully.
As the characters are fairly large and over half the letters bear a strong resemblance to the print equivalent, Moon has been found particularly suitable for those who lose their sight later in life, or for people who may have a less keen sense of touch.
Some children with additional physical and/or learning difficulties acquire some literacy skills through learning Moon.
Being able to read a few words on signs and labels can greatly enhance independence, and for some it leads on to the development of further literacy skills.
Advantages of learning Moon
There are lots of very good reasons to learn Moon. Here are some of Moon's benefits:
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Provides an "active" reading method for people who cannot access print or braille.
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Being similar to the print alphabet, Moon may be easier to learn and remember for people who are familiar with print letters.
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The large open characters, which can be produced in any size, make it easy to feel and decipher, so may be useful for people with a poor sense of touch or limited motor control.
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Some children and adults with learning and/or physical difficulties in addition to sight loss, who would find it impossible to learn braille, can acquire some literacy through Moon.
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Requires a considerably less acute sense of touch than braille, so may help readers with conditions such as diabetes, whose finger sensitivity may be reduced.
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Even grade 2 Moon is quick to learn and offers space saving and speeds up reading.
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Learning Moon self-study courses in grade 1 and grade 2 Moon are available from RNIB, enabling a learner to make a start even if a teachers is not available.
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Offers a system for labelling all kinds of items (CDs, DVDs, food packaging, medicines and household documents), enabling independence and raising self-esteem in a person who has lost their sight.
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It is a simple system that a user's family and friends can quickly learn in order to help or communicate with the Moon reader.
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Dotty Moon can be produced using a computer, an embosser and translation software.
Disadvantages of learning Moon
Although there are many benefits to learning Moon, the disadvantages also need be considered. Here are some of Moon's disadvantages:
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Books produced in Moon are very bulky and often in many volumes.
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Some people may find large Moon volumes heavy and uncomfortable to read.
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The choice of Moon books available is very limited.
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There is no portable, mechanical device for writing Moon, which there is for braille (like a Perkins brailler or the Jot-a-dot note-taker). Whilst hand frames are available, these require freehand drawing of the characters rather than following stencils.
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Equipment for producing heat-sensitive (swell) paper or Dotty Moon is very expensive, as is the swell paper itself.
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Moon is not widely known about, so is almost never offered as an alternative format for items such as household bills, bank statements and restaurant menus.
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Moon is hardly used outside of the UK, so additional resources cannot be bought in from abroad.
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Whereas a soft braille display can be linked to a computer to enable a braillist to read what is on the screen, an equivalent Moon display is not available. This is a particular disadvantage for people who cannot use a speech package that reads out what is displayed on a computer screen.
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Whilst the benefits of Moon (ease of learning and benefits for those with poor touch) have been broadly supported by research, it is difficult to say whether Moon is an ideal tactile reading code. For example, using the same characters in rotation can cause confusion.