What is Moon?
Moon is a tactile reading code, made up of raised characters. It was developed in Brighton, in 1847 by Dr William Moon.
The Moon code is based on the print alphabet. Some Moon characters are the same as print capital letters (for example, C, J, L, N, O, U, V, Z) while others are simplified. The Moon code uses a limited number of characters which are rotated to represent different letters.
Who uses Moon?
There are two particular audiences for Moon: older blind and partially sighted people who lose their sight later in life, and multiply disabled visually impaired (MDVI) children.
Older blind and partially sighted people
Older people who lose their sight later in life may choose to learn Moon, due to its similarity to the print alphabet. As some Moon characters are simply raised versions of print letters they can be recognised without training, and it is thought that learning Moon may be easier than learning the braille code.
Another reason for elderly people learning Moon may be a lack of tactile sensitivity. Feeling in the fingertips is known to diminish with age, and as Moon is larger than braille (and indeed can be produced at any size) this may be more suitable for someone who finds it difficult to discriminate small dots by touch.
MDVI children
Moon is also used by children who have visual impairments and other disabilities. For example, children who have poor motor control and may not be able to discriminate small braille dots, or children who may not have the cognitive capacity to learn the complex braille code.
MDVI children who learn Moon may not use it for reading whole books, but may learn a few letters to label items (for example, their initials to identify their belongings at school), to give them more independence (for example, Moon letters on signage) and to be included in literacy activities being carried out by their sighted classmates. Some children learn Moon to develop their sense of touch and may later go on to learn braille.
Key benefits of Moon
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Being based on the print alphabet, Moon may be easier to learn for people who are familiar with print letters.
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Moon is larger than braille, and can be produced at any size, so may be useful for people with a poor sense of touch or limited motor control.
Key disadvantages of Moon
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Moon resources are not widely available, which may put some people off learning the code.
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The larger size of Moon, compared to braille, means reading material can be very bulky and this may make long books unmanageable.
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It is difficult for individuals to write in Moon. Currently there is no simple machine (like a Perkins brailler) which can write Moon, and whilst hand frames are available, these require freehand drawing of the characters rather than being stencils.
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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.
Learning Moon
A number of Moon learning resources are available from RNIB's Online Shop. These include the Moon Cats teaching pack (aimed at children) and Journey Round The Moon (aimed at adults).
For further information, see Learning Moon.
Reading Moon books
RNIB's National Library Service has a collection of Moon books which can be borrowed. The ClearVision children's library also has a small but growing number of Moon books.
Writing Moon
Simple tools for writing Moon such as Moon hand frames, film for writing on and sticky labels of Moon letters and numbers are available from RNIB's Online Shop. Moon can also be produced using computer software and embossers.
For further information, see Producing Moon.