Instead of telling you about this amazing British teenager, we thought it would be best to read her story in her own words. Meet Mariella and find out what she did while she was stuck at home during the pandemic.
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My name is Mariella Satow and I have developed ‘SignUp’ which is a free Google Chrome Extension providing on-screen ASL signing, alongside children’s movies on Disney+.
How SignUp came about
I started learning ASL last year, and soon realized there was a lack of free and engaging learning resources. After further research, I discovered how limited the opportunities were for certain Deaf individuals, especially children, to engage fully with television and movies and decided it was time to change this. I worked with ASL experts and the Deaf community to create SignUp. SignUp enables a viewer to stream a movie and, simultaneously, a small pop-up window will appear with an interpreter signing in ASL. Students can use it for learning and everyone can enjoy movie nights!
What a welcome for SignUp!
The response to SignUp has been overwhelming since I launched it a couple of days ago. There have been thousands of visitors to the website, hundreds of likes on social media posts and dozens of emails. Thank you for all the support – the messages, videos, likes, comments, and shares! You’ve made me laugh and happy cry and I’ve been so touched by the incredible warmth and strength of the ASL community. I know we can build this together to be an amazing platform, both for the Deaf community and ASL students…
How to use the app
