Published by:
Global Deaf Research Institute (GDRI)
2028 East Ben White Boulevard #240-7215
Austin, Texas 78741
GDRI © 2024
Executive Summary
The Global Deaf Research Institute’s Deaf Voices Counted initiative is an international, community-led research program that documents the lived experiences, priorities, and systemic barriers faced by people with hearing loss. Each deployment is designed in close partnership with local deaf organizations and leaders, ensuring that data collection reflects community realities and strengthens local advocacy. This study, deployed in partnership with the Ecuadorian National Federation of Deaf People (FENASEC), marks the second deployment of Deaf Voices Counted. By combining quantitative measurement with qualitative perspectives, the project captures a nuanced picture of community needs and priorities—providing a foundation for targeted reforms and sustained systemic change.
This white paper presents the first national portrait of life with hearing loss in Ecuador designed and conducted by deaf researchers. It fills a critical evidence gap by providing a national dataset collected through surveys conducted in Ecuadorian Sign Language (LSEC) and Spanish, ensuring the full and direct participation of the Ecuadorian deaf community. This study focused specifically on deaf people, rather than subsuming deaf experiences within broader disability data and provides a robust account to guide deaf-facing policy in the Ecuadorian Five Year Agenda for the Equality of Disabilities.
Employing a large national survey sample and community-based focus groups in key provinces across the country, this study offers the most complete and current depiction available of the challenges faced by deaf Ecuadorians, including signers, oral communicators, and DeafBlind people. International research shows that delayed access to an accessible first language and persistent communication barriers are linked to poorer cognitive development, lower educational attainment, and worse health outcomes for deaf people, 1,2 making the eight year average delay in support documented here an urgent target for intervention reform. Together, these findings position the Ecuador dataset as a critical national baseline for measuring whether future policies actually close long-standing gaps in language access, education, work, health, and neighborhood conditions for people with hearing loss. The National Council for the Equality of Disabilities (CONADIS) has already confirmed that the resulting dataset will inform the government’s forthcoming Five‑Year Agenda for the Equality of Disabilities. Fieldwork exposed some disturbing realities, showing significant lack of access and often shocking oppression, underscoring the urgency of systemic reform.
The project generated a list of 52 identified needs (Appendix 7.1), each referring to a specific, measurable barrier documented through the national dataset. These needs were based on indicators such as the proportion of participants without access to essential services or supports, for example, the finding that nineteen percent of deaf Ecuadorians surveyed do not know Ecuadorian Sign Language. Similar indicators were collected across all major domains of daily life, creating a detailed map of resource gaps that limit language access, education, health, employment, economic stability, and community participation. The study organized these needs utilizing the framework of the Social Determinants of Health: social and community context, education, economic stability and employment, healthcare, and neighborhood and built environment. This multifaceted structure supported the development of actionable recommendations that respond directly to the challenges quantified and described through both the survey and focus groups.
Findings reflect a sample of 311 survey participants and more than 100 individuals involved in interviews, and should be interpreted as evidence of patterns and disparities within the study population, rather than as a full national census Seven community events open to the general public were hosted to foster engagement, amplify local voices, and promote meaningful discussions on improving accessibility and inclusion. Over the study period, a total of 38 closed stakeholder meetings and workshops were held with universities, government entities, advocacy groups, and local organizations, ensuring a collaborative approach.
The initiative included significant direct outreach, comprising 9 targeted outreach efforts to raise awareness, build connections, and improve community involvement. The project emphasized local leadership by employing deaf Ecuadorians in key roles (program coordination, translation/interpretation support, and community ambassador positions) and training a deaf youth leader in data analysis and policy-facing presentation.
The following assessment can serve as a national baseline dataset for monitoring and evaluating deaf-focused programs. By providing concrete and evidence‑driven recommendations, the project offers a clear roadmap for dismantling systemic barriers and advancing human rights for people with hearing loss in Ecuador and beyond.
