Our Story

OUR WHY.

We wanted our dining table experience to be inclusive.

THE IDEA: It all started with pasta, a comfort food that withstood through generations. It remains families’ favorite comfort food.

We found pasta with creative designs like dinosaurs and ballerina to appeal to our picky eaters. The kids exclaimed that it tasted way better than our former frequent major pasta company brands. After several purchases from their company, we came to a realization...

There is no food designed with ASL hand shapes to celebrate their Deaf/HoH identities daily. How can we make the dining table experience with our family inclusive? After doing some research, it became clear that there are no FOOD bringing awareness to how “Dining Table Syndrome” is damaging to Deaf/HoH children. Watch this video about how language deprivation and language acquisition can affect Deaf/HoH children. The dining table is the heartbeat of a family; It is where families gather together to catch up and reconnect.

Something needed to change, and we knew the dining table experience could be different. We got in contact with the pasta company and then we created the ASL hand shapes that you see in your ASL pasta.

This is where Parents Gone Hiatus (Deaf family-owned business) comes into the picture. We focus on providing resources to give parents relief to help Deaf/HoH children discover and solidify their identities.

Enter ASL Pasta.

No details were left out in the process of making - texture, chewiness, appearance, and comfort. ASL pasta is visually appetizing by having ASL hand shapes and natural vegetable powders to create vibrant colored pasta. 100% Durum Wheat with high-protein content to produce that perfect chewy texture that does not get sticky or clumpy. The design and thickness of ASL pasta help to hold the sauce.

Enter the Seasonings.

Simplify your meal prep to have more quality family time. Our Old-Fashioned Mac & Cheese seasoning is a spin on the traditional Mac & cheese with some secret ingredients added to take it to the next level. Our Basil’ly Pesto is made fresh with three simple ingredients. We did not want to do typical pesto jars pre-made with preservatives as seen in the stores. The store-bought jars are not as fresh as our Basil'ly Pesto.

With us, your happiness with the freshness is a guarantee.

You better believe that PGHiatus didn’t stop with a bowl of ASL pasta - There is a SIGNWORD game inside the pasta labels and cool Deaf culture facts & challenges on the back of the labels.

Endless possibilities you could do with your ASL pasta like utilizing it for educational purposes, arts & crafts, decorations, sensory activities, etc!

Let’s grab a bowl of ASL pasta and play because inclusion matters in every bite.

Tidbits:

THE LAUNCH: Fast forward a year, Parents Gone Hiatus launched January 2022 in where our love story really began, Pittsburgh, PA. We announced ASL pasta in April 2022 across the country, in Tucson, AZ!

THE RELEASE: Still in Tucson, AZ, we launched our website store in May 2022. We do everything together as a family right at our home. :) Filming video contents are one of our favorite things to do together!

THE FEATURE: OMG, we have been featured, interviewed, and talked about by many people, especially in the Deaf community. Go check our social media to see what people say.

📸 Tag #PGHiatusFUN to share pictures and/or videos of you playing our games or doing our challenges. You might be featured on our social media and/or receive a surprise from us in the mail! 📲

THE HAPPENING: What's going on with Parents Gone Hiatus today? Go on over to our social media and/or sign up for our newsletter below to see all the latest updates on PGHiatus. We are eternally grateful to our team, our customers, our family and friends, our Deaf community, and everyone who helped us get here!

THE TEAM.

Meet Elizabeth Edgar.

Unstoppable Go-Getter.

Meet Alexander Heath.

Jack-of-all-Trades. Master of Some.