Leala Holcomb

@lealaholcomb.bsky.social

Multigenerational deaf. Research assistant professor. Deaf education. Translanguaging and multimodal multilingual literacies. Teacher trainer.

Although cochlear implants can give deaf children access to sound, it doesn’t always mean they have unrestricted or consistent access to language. This Science paper and podcast episode discuss how sign language can provide this access: pca.st/episode/5e7f... www.science.org/content/arti...

Implants can help deaf kids hear—but many still struggle with spoken language

Some researchers worry about risks of devaluing sign language, overreliance on imperfect devices

science.org

I have been intentional abt reading from different sources. I find myself respecting conservatives who challenge Republicans’ narratives & liberals who challenge Democrats’ narratives. I am increasingly not a fan of the religious-like, all-or-nothing outlook on complicated topics. 1/3

Part 1: Indiana Republicans want to take back in time when our language and culture were suppressed. Summary of Indiana Senate Bill 0473’s Impact on DHH Education (can be found in sections 26-28, pages 19-21):

Thread im thread fuer den alt-text aller Screenshots im zitierten thread: A screenshot of a document listing words flagged in a search of current NSF (National Science Foundation) awards. The heading states that the list is possibly incomplete and based on a cull from 1/10th of the awards flagged.

Question for #blind or #deafblind people: are tactile posters a thing that would be welcomed? Poster sessions at conferences tend to be visual - could/should they be tactile as well? And maybe a tactile layout of the conference? Not instead of a protactile interpreter, but in addition to.

Loved reconnecting w/ old faces & meeting new ones to discuss deaf education research @ #ACEDHH2025 conference. I wasn’t expecting it, but I woke up this morning as the President-Elect for the ACEDHH organization! Honored and excited to work with the Board to keep pushing deaf education forward.

I’ve been doing a lot of reflecting this weekend as I became the person in charge of planning & executing (along with an essential/committed team) a conference I first attended in 2011. I started as a shy grad student scared of making a fool of myself in front of the biggest names in my field (1/~3)

Great poster session at #ACEDHH2025! Cool research happening and it's exciting for people to discuss their work 1-on-few. Also, and maybe it's just me, but I like when people that give full presentations also do posters about their work. Posters don't only have to be for grad students.

I have been working on a million-dollar USAID project, funded by your taxes, supporting deaf education in Rwanda, Malawi, & Philippines, collaborating w/ local Deaf researchers to create meaningful systemic changes. The work is only halfway done. We were informed the project is being suspended. 1/

Media fuels hysteria & an us vs. them mindset. I saw it w/ Biden 4 years ago (Republican reactions) & now w/ Trump (Democratic reactions). Reminding myself not to jump to fear-based conclusions based on info I get from social media’s algorithm. Gotta read legit sources from varied perspectives. 🧐

High school "There is no way people will take you seriously without a college degree." College "If you want to be taken seriously go to grad school." Grad school "Get a job at a university. Then you will be taken seriously." University job “You are so out of touch nobody takes you seriously.”

For #NoTalkTISLR to happen at future TISLR meetings, I think we may have to change the fundamental space of the presentations. More workshops, more posters for direct signing?

Adam Schembri (ˈʃɛmbɹi/ˈʃkɛmbri)@adamcschembri.bsky.social · 2y ago

Maybe the field isn’t ready yet for a #NoTalkTISLR but at the next conference we *could* perhaps have two parallel streams of on-stage presentations, one without interpreting, as a way to ease us towards a sign-only future? #TISLR15