Game Changing

By STL MADE

Mona Jawad and Ayesha Kazi founded ASL Aspire to bring a game-based approach to teaching American Sign Language for STEM concepts through interactive lessons.

When Mona Jawad and Ayesha Kazi began researching the challenges facing Deaf students in STEM fields in 2020, they came across a startling realization: Just four publicly accessible American Sign Language (ASL) signs existed for the 118 elements of the periodic table. In many ways, this was shocking to them; ASL is a thriving, robust language, and the periodic table is one of the most fundamental constructs in the sciences. 

However, when put into context of Deaf students’ historical disempowerment, it made sense — and filled Jawad and Kazi with a sense of mission.

“ASL had been kept out of scientific spaces… and though things have changed, the delay has meant that new STEM terms do not yet exist in ASL,” Jawad says. “It’s difficult for (Deaf) students and teachers to communicate these concepts in class. We talked with educators about how devastating this is in their classrooms, and we wanted to do something because we knew these students needed a chance to make their potential come out.” Read more here.