# Exploring Neurological Effects and Life Experiences of Language Deprivation in the Deaf Community of the Dominican Republic

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2020 · $176,042

## Abstract

This Deaf-led proposal aims to better understand salient concepts and patterns of language deprivation in
Deaf communities of the Dominican Republic (DR), generating research capacity and strengthening
partnerships using Popular Education principles and community collaboration around the conduct of a
participatory qualitative study. The interference of acquiring language is the greatest threat to the long-
term health and well-being of deaf children. “Language deprivation” is the experience of inconsistently
accessible language exposure during the critical period of language acquisition – a time-sensitive
neurodevelopmental period for establishing a first language foundation. Not having a complete first
language foundation before the critical period “window” closes is associated with permanent atypical
neurostructural changes in deaf people and may be associated with poor education, health, and
employment outcomes seen in the deaf population. Hearing loss is the fourth leading cause of Years
Lived with Disability (YLD) worldwide, and is particularly acute in Latin America and the Caribbean. This
project proposes to expands two existing partnerships - one long-term existing NIH-funded research
partnership between the University of Rochester (UR) and Pontifica Universidad Catolica Madre y
Maestra (PUCMM), and another existing USAID- funded partnership between Discovering Deaf Worlds
(DDW; an international deaf NGO based in Rochester) and the Asociación Nacional de Sordos de la
República Dominicana (ANSORDO; National Association of the Deaf of the Dominican Republic). Little is
known about the manifestations and experiences of language deprivation in the DR’s deaf population and
strong but heretofore separate existing partnerships can be merged to create a new emphasis and
experiential learning on the topic. As such, our aims are to: 1) Investigate and document the health
concerns and needs of the DR’s Deaf communities, with particular focus on early childhood language
experiences, perceived consequences, and the identification of language dynamics and engagement of
Deaf populations; 2) Generate and expand capacity to conduct community- engaged research with Deaf
Dominicans, and 3) Grow and strengthen a collaborative research focus on global deaf health and
language deprivation between US and Dominican academic institutions and deaf community
organizations. The project is guided by principles and methods the involved bi/tri/quadrilingual (ASL/ DSL/
English/ Spanish) teams have already demonstrated, and the project is centered around a model of
capacity building and partnership strengthening implemented by the partners in completing a pilot study
to develop logistics, instruments, procedures, and personnel for this project.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10002337
- **Project number:** 5R21TW011508-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** TIMOTHY De Ver DYE
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $176,042
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2022-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10002337

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10002337, Exploring Neurological Effects and Life Experiences of Language Deprivation in the Deaf Community of the Dominican Republic (5R21TW011508-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10002337. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*