Literacy for blind children through moon: a possibility?

Abstract

The population of blind children in the United Kingdom has been changing significantly over the last thirty years, with an increase in the number of blind children with additional handicaps. For many of these children the study of braille as a medium of communication has proved too difficult, so that in effect they are being denied access to literacy. Although it has been used for almost 150 years, mainly for the elderly blind, moon has never been formally investigated as a suitable system of communication for children. Technological changes which have made it easier to write moon have resulted in more teachers looking to this system as a possible alternative to braille for certain blind children. In this context, a study has recently begun at the University of Birmingham which seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of moon in developing the literacy of blind students with learning difficulties.