By techycrunchy 
For decades, poor literacy rates have been a challenge for the deaf and hard of hearing community, with median literacy levels among deaf high school graduates stagnating at a fourth-grade level since the early 20th century, according to the National Center for Special Education Research. Introducing STEM subjects, which require specialized vocabulary that is often absent in standard American Sign Language (ASL), only adds to the barriers these students face.
Illinois-based startup ASL Aspire is tackling this issue with a game-based approach to STEM education. The company, a participant in TechCrunch Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield 200, is working to develop STEM-focused curricula designed specifically for deaf students.
Creating STEM Vocabulary in ASL
ASL Aspire collaborates with deaf scientists and mathematicians to standardize STEM-specific vocabulary in ASL. This specialized vocabulary is then integrated into lesson plans for teachers, ensuring that students gain access to concepts critical to success in STEM fields.
Launched in 2022, the startup initially targets middle school students but is building resources for kindergarten through 12th grade. Co-founder and COO Ayesha Kazi noted that even high schoolers, who often lag behind their hearing peers, have shown significant benefits from the platform.
The Inspiration Behind ASL Aspire
Kazi’s co-founder, Mona Jawad, conceived the idea for ASL Aspire while pursuing her doctorate in speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. Jawad’s experience working with deaf scientists in a research lab highlighted the critical gap in STEM-related ASL vocabulary.
“[Jawad] worked directly in a lab with deaf scientists, and so she saw that the biggest gap within the language was in STEM,” Kazi told TechCrunch. She emphasized the stark disparity in representation: while 10% of Americans are deaf or hard of hearing, only about 0.1% work in STEM fields.
Bringing Research to the Classroom
During her academic journey, Jawad observed that while extensive research exists on teaching STEM to deaf students, little had been done to translate those findings into practical, commercially available tools. ASL Aspire’s mission is to bridge this gap, providing deaf students with the tools they need to succeed in STEM and beyond.
By equipping educators with innovative curricula and introducing ASL-based STEM vocabulary, ASL Aspire hopes to empower the next generation of deaf students to thrive in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.