BUT WHAT ABOUT PATRICK?!? I recognized the need for advanced content, but I knew that the biggest market segment for language apps is beginning to intermediate users. I determined that if I were going to invest time, money, and energy to develop an application for teaching sign language from beginning to advanced levels, I would make sure that it was designed in a way that could have been of benefit to my son during the first five years of his life. If you are intrigued about what we have designed, where we are in development, and/or how you can help, please scan this QR code to learn more.
I learned that the founder of Duolingo was a teacher who recognized inequity. He realized that having skills in English opened doors to better job opportunities. He decided the app should be Freemium so that those who needed these language skills to be competitive in the job market could gain the language skills they needed–whether or not they could afford to pay a monthly or annual subscription.
There are some cool sign language apps on the market!
Something bothered me, though. None of the apps that I saw provided opportunities for sign language skill development at the level that my advanced interpreting students needed. My students worked so hard to find opportunities to grow. Several graduates moved across the United States (from San Diego to Washington, DC, or Rochester, New York, or Minneapolis, Minn.) in an effort to master more complex language skills. Many did not have the freedom to uproot and move to seek opportuni- ties for advanced language and skill development. None of the online or digital platforms for teaching and learning sign language provide much more than the basic conversational level skills that one can gain in the first year or two of language study. After all, I earned a Bachelor’s in Spanish, but with four years of language study, I was nowhere close to ready to get a job interpreting for Spanish speakers in educa- tional contexts. I wondered how advanced interpreting students could learn more sophisticated and nuanced language skills. If programs aren’t long enough, and online tools stop after ASL 4 or so, where do advanced learners find resources to support deeper learning? I began to think about creating a graduate level interpreting curriculum that leveraged technology to ensure that a platform would have enough flexibility to achieve several goals. The platform would need to (a) be highly interactive and engaging, perhaps even gamified and responsive, (b) be able to provide advanced and highly specialized learning opportunities, and (c) be agile enough to deliver content in bite-sized pieces and available to support people who were already working with Deaf and hard of hearing students on a daily basis. I wanted to get helpful information out as soon as possible. I wanted to be able to respond quickly to a rapidly changing post-pandemic world. I decided that an app would be an essen- tial component to delivering high quality content in a way that was engaging and highly interactive. As I began to research what it would take to design an app that could provide engaging, fun, gamified learning for the students I had worked with (ASL 1-4, Interpreting 1-4, interns, graduates trying without success to meet entry level qualifica- tion standards for employment), I recognized that this would need my full time attention.
A PATHWAY TOWARD INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE Accessible language is the cornerstone of academic achieve- ment, social development, and emotional well-being. When families and educators share the tools to provide consistent language exposure, children gain the foundation they need to thrive. Technology has now advanced to the point where this level of access is not only possible—it is scalable, immediate, and profoundly effective. As school districts navigate budget constraints and make decisions for low-incidence populations, universal ASL access offers a unique opportunity: a tool that benefits everyone. For Deaf and hard of hearing students, it is essential. For hearing students and educators, it builds empathy, connection, and communication skills. For families, it opens the door to a thriving linguistic and cultural community. The future of inclusive education hinges on solutions that are both innovative andhuman-centered. ASL Flurry stands at this intersection, offering a pathway from isolation to true inclu- sion—one sign, one family, and one classroom at a time. An app like ASL Flurry could have made a difference for Patrick. In the six months before he moved in with us, he lived with a super foster mom, her 18 year old biological daughter and son, two adopted teenagers, and Patrick. They all wanted to learn sign language and were excitedthat Patrick (the child who knew 30 signs) was teaching them.
From my perspective, an app like ASL Flurry is decades too late for my son. But it’s not too late for kids like Patrick.
32 https://www.closingthegap.com/benefits-of-membership/ | February / March, 2026 Closing The Gap © 2026 Closing The Gap, Inc. All rights reserved.
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