Harnessing the community: moon script,the Moon-Writer and sighted volunteers

Abstract

The steadily increasing numbers of visually impaired people will necessitate new approaches to the teaching of reading and writing. The close similarity of moon script to the familiar print alphabet, and the relative ease with which it can be learned by blind and sighted adults, may make it a useful alternative to braille. An account is given of some experimental courses in which adults have been trained to read and write moon script, and it is argued that the success of these courses suggests that rehabilitation professionals could use non-expert, sighted volunteers to teach moon to newly blinded people.