Other tactile codes

Whilst there are many benefits and users of braille, there are many blind and partially sighted people who do not - and some who cannot - learn braille.

Some reasons for this may be:
  • some people's fingers are not sensitive enough to feel the relatively small braille dots
  • braille may be too difficult for some people to learn (or may be perceived as too difficult)
  • some people feel there is a stigma attached to braille, that it makes them "look like a blind person".
Some people who find braille difficult to learn make use of other tactile codes such as Moon, Fishburne and other symbols:

Moon

Moon is a system of raised shapes, which can help blind people of any age to read by touch. The characters are made up of raised lines and curves, similar to the print alphabet, to create a set of basic shapes.

Fishburne

Fishburne was designed as a labelling code, and was not intended to be used for reading materials. The code is made up of four symbols (a dot, a vertical dash, a horizontal dash and a diagonal dash) which are used in a repeating pattern to make up the alphabet.

Using other symbols

Tactile symbols are often used by blind and partially sighted people as useful labels in all sorts of situations - like labelling clothes. Symbols can also be used to communicate, for example by those who struggle to communicate by other means, such as children with multiple disabilities and sight loss.

Last updated: 20 September 2012

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