User:Kjb1818/Deafness in the Dominican Republic

Lead
According to the director of the Asociación Nacional de Sordos de la República Dominicana (ANSORDO) they estimate there are between 95,000-145,000 DHH individuals in the Dominican Republic. This is about 1% of the population. Of this number, 50,000 are children or teenagers. It is important within the country DHH individuals can feel safe, accepted, and have laws that protect their rights. DHH individuals face hardships each day whether it is through employment or education. Many of them don't receive an adequate education as compared to hearing individuals. Deaf people are discriminated against in the work place and the Dominican Republic has no law prohibiting this.

Deaf Empowerment
An organization for the deaf in the Dominican Republic is the The Dominican Republic Association of the Deaf (Asociación Nacional de Sordos de la República Dominicana, ANSORDO). ANSORDO is deaf lead and works to advocate for DHH people in the Dominican Republic as well as reduce inequalities between DHH and hearing people.

Another significant organization is Discovering Deaf Worlds. They are a non-profit organization and work closely with the DHH community in the Dominican Republic. Their mission is, "to advance the self-determination of signing Deaf communities through local capacity building in developing countries." Discovering Deaf Worlds achieves this through partnerships with educators, employers, and non-governmental organizations. This organization is focused on deaf empowerment rather than charity based as they are determined to improve deaf education, communication accessibility, employment, and human rights. This organization doesn't state whether it is deaf run, however, many of the board members have degrees revolving around sign language or relating topics.

The Adventist Church devoted the first congregation explicitly for hearing impaired people in the southeast of Santo Domingo. This drew many leaders, volunteers, and over 30 hard of hearing individuals. As a result of this, Kariela Alcántara was able to partner with the National School for the Deaf and the National Institute of Technical Professional Formation and begin a collaboration to start a conference and train people in sign language. The Church is not deaf lead, however, they bring in many interpreters so everyone can feel included.

Santa Rosa Institute for Assistance for Deaf Persons is another significant organization in the Dominican Republic. This institute was started in 1972 by a group of people led by María Consuelo in the city of Santo Domingo. Santa Rosa is a non-profit institution and is dedicated to supporting people with hearing loss and contributing to their social experiences. This institute is not charity based as they are focused on taking care of DHH citizens in the Dominican Republic and guide them to become productive people in society. The institution supports them in 10+ ways for example, family support, sign language and job training. This is a non-profit organization and is not deaf led.

Language Deprivation
The number of children worldwide who receive early and immersive natural sign language exposure during the critical time period of language acquisition is 2%. In low-income countries for example, the Dominican Republic, these inequalities are heightened. A research group consisting of Dominican and American based researchers joined to learn more about the Dominican language. From the research, they had discovered "extreme delayed ages of accessible language exposure and inability to communicate directly with healthcare providers." Until 20 years ago, the Dominican Republic didn't provide universal free education for deaf children. Parents who were financially able would send their children to Puerto Rico or the US to get the education they needed. The majority of DHH children are born into hearing families who have no experience in sign language. As a result of this, early language experiences that help the brain develop, social skills develop, and the capability to function in the world aren't able to happen without assistance. The University of Rochester and other research groups including Discovering Deaf Worlds and ANSORDO came together to interview DHH people one on one and in focus groups. The overall aim of the study was "to better understand salient concepts and patterns of language deprivation in Dominican deaf communities." They looked for Dominicans in 32 different provinces of the country. The DHH individuals explained that their exposure or access to language didn't begin until 6 or 7 years old when they began school. Early exposure to language is critical for proper brain development and delayed exposure can have negative effects across a persons life.

Human Civil Rights
The rights of people with disabilities have been protected by the Dominican Constitution since 2010. In the DR, they have implemented a government body whose role is to find employment for DHH persons. They must have at least acquired a high school diploma and must be able to communicate in both Spanish and Dominican Sign Language. There is a Dominican Council on Disability. This is a governing organization and has multiple areas of operation. On the state report submitted by the Dominican Republic to the CRPD, one of the actions states, “expand educational coverage for deaf-blind children and children with multiple disabilities” Since then, the goals that have been achieved in recent years include: opening of support services for deaf-blind children and children with multiple disabilities at six special education centers in the provinces of Dajabón, la Vega, Azua, Ocoa, Puerto Plata and la Romana; 105 deaf-blind children and children with multiple disabilities.

The Sign Language Act:

With this law, the Dominican Republic will allow access to information and interpreters in schools and universities. This will then be provided to deaf people and their families. This law will allow for more deaf students to feel comfortable in school and be able to easier obtain their degree.

"Providing more education access to the DHH community by guaranteeing sign language interpreters to university students."

Communication Laws:

Act 42-2000, section 85, paragraph 1 and 2: "provides that all telecommunication programs should include an interpreter or sign language, SDH, or closed captioning, and screen recordings of the texts that appear on the screen for the blind."

Education:

Article 101: “To meet this objective, it is planned to redefine the functions of special education centres with a view to enhancing their services from two standpoints: the enrollment of children with multiple severe disabilities, and the development of inclusive education through the strategy of Diversity Resource Centres.”

Disability Grant:

Article 936 : “a deaf-mute person who can write may accept [an inter vivos donation] on his or her own behalf or through a representative. If he or she does not know how to write, acceptance is given through a guardian appointed for that purpose, in conformity with the rules established under the chapter on minors, guardianship and emancipation."

Equality:

Disability in the Dominican Republic (Act 42-2000) outlines the obligations of the entities involved in the development and social integration of people with disabilities. These obligations are divided into three categories: social, family, and state obligations..

Early Detection and Intervention
In 2012, 150,581 births occurred in the Dominican Republic. From this number, 0.09% of newborns were screened. The newborns were all screened using otoacoustic emissions. The screenings are not mandated anywhere in the country. Based on my research, there have been no updates to any legislation in place regarding newborn screenings. There are currently no EHDI legislations in place. Ear and hearing services are very difficult to access in the Dominican Republic especially in areas outside of the big cities such as Santo Domingo and Santiago. The main reasons for this include, lack of trained professionals, lack of surgical tools, and access difficulty due to distance and cost. While receiving hearing technologies is accessible to everyone, they are only available in the larger cities. Hear the World Foundation has opened five clinics in the Dominican Republic that allow for Dominican children to receive access to audiological care. Young children are learning sign language from deaf teaching assistants in school and other deaf adults in the community. Based on my research, there are no programs to teach younger children sign language before entering school.

Primary & Secondary Education
Under national legislation, education is considered a right for all citizens. With this said, there is a high dropout rate in public schools for deaf children. Many deaf children leave early due to frustration in their learning environment. Majority of the schools are staffed with teachers who have no training in deaf education and training is currently unavailable. On top of this, the teachers most times aren't fluent in sign language. A lot of the teachers who know sign language have learned it from fellow teachers or their students. Countless deaf people in the Dominican Republic aren't satisfied with the current education because the teachers aren't aware of how to reach deaf students and typically try to keep them busy through rote learning. Transportation prohibits a lot of deaf children from attending school as well. Overall, 50% of all students finish four years of schooling, 22% finish eight years, and 10% finish secondary education. Currently, the Dominican Republic has about 20 schools for deaf students. The first and largest school is in Santo Domingo and is called La Escuela Nacional de Sordomudos. This school is free for students besides a small transportation fee. The deaf schools follow the same schedule as the regular schools in the Dominican Republic, being in session for 4 hours either in the morning or afternoon. For deaf people in the Dominican Republic, there are public and private institutions that provide basic and technical education. Typically, these services are inadequate. Currently, non-governmental organizations have started a system of integration for pre-qualified deaf children to formal education in regular schools.

Higher Education
There are currently no post-secondary education available for deaf students. On top of this, if they do want to move onto higher education they have to fund it themselves. The possibility of deaf people receiving a post-secondary education is slim to none. Opportunity for higher education is only available for a select few deaf Dominicans. The Cooperative Association of States for Scholarships (CASS) offers scholarships to any disabled people who are interested in becoming sign-language interpreters and they don't require the students to have a high school diploma. A high percentage of deaf students who make it to the university level leave because it is difficult for them to read their professors lips. Interpreters cost between $20,000-$40,000 (Dominican peso) monthly. Many university professors don't accept deaf students in their classrooms because they feel it will delay the class.

Employment
Employment of deaf people is carried out through private programs of workplace placement which are run by non-profit organizations. The Dominican Republic has started activities which help to develop an employment fund for anyone with a disability. There is a government body devoted to finding employment for deaf people. However, the governing body is only applicable to DHH people who have at least a high school diploma and are able to communicate in both Spanish and Dominican Sign Language. This idea has been criticized by many as not being efficient because most DHH people with bachelor's degrees still mainly work in blue-collar jobs. Deaf Dominicans face many barriers that prevent them from finding employment. To find higher paid employment, an individual must obtain a certificate showing completion of a certain level of education. Most deaf Dominicans don't have this level of education. On top of this, many deaf people have no choice but to work close to home or close to public transportation. While deaf people are allowed driver's license, the government doesn't encourage it and makes it a difficult process. This results in the most common jobs among deaf Dominicans being, custodians, guards, teacher's assistants in deaf schools, hairdressers, painters, tailors, carpenters, hotel workers, or taxi drivers. Edesur Dominicana is a company in the Dominican Republic that has around 25 employees with different types of disabilities. Milton Morrison, the general manager wants everyone in the population "to enjoy the same opportunities in a more equitable way to reduce social inequalities." Aside from this, people with disabilities are typically underrepresented in workplaces because the country has no legal penalties against employers for discrimination.

Healthcare
The healthcare system in the Dominican Republic lacks adequate framework to help people with disabilities. Very few efforts are available to educate healthcare providers on the hardships people with disabilities face. Based on my research, I couldn't find information regarding deaf people and healthcare directly.