Hearing-impaired children learned to code Thursday as part of the "Deaf Kids Code" workshop at St. Joseph's School for the Deaf in Throgs Neck.

The program was created four years ago by Shireen Hafeez, who says she was inspired by her son who suffers from hearing loss.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people who are deaf or hard of hearing have a high risk of unemployment -- at a rate of 70 percent nationally.

Hafeez says coding is a universal language that can help bridge that gap.