The Better India · 11 days ago

Signsetu Founder Shraddha Agarwal on Building an ISL-Based Learning Platform for Deaf Children

Growing up in classrooms built for hearing students, Shraddha Agarwal learned through delayed notes and lip-reading what most Deaf children never learn at all: that the problem isn't their capacity, but a system that refuses to meet them in their own language. Her platform SignSetu flips the script entirely-teaching English through Indian Sign Language first, proving that when Deaf children are taught visually and bilingually, word recall jumps up to 75% in just fifteen minutes a day. She holds fast to a principle born from hard experience: "Nothing for us, without us," co-creating every feature with Deaf educators and students who understand that literacy isn't a gift but a gateway-to independence, employment, and the dignity of being understood. What emerges is not just an app but a quiet revolution in what inclusion actually means: not forcing Deaf children to adapt to hearing classrooms, but redesigning classrooms themselves to honor how Deaf minds naturally learn.