03/11/2013 – 10:24
Alexis Kashar
The New York Jewish Week
On Monday, March 4th, the television show ‘Switched at Birth’ did something on mainstream TV that had never been done before. It ran an episode in sign language. Some viewers thought at first that the sound on their television was broken.
The show is an ABC Family drama that revolves around two teenagers who were switched at birth, one of whom is deaf. According to ABC Family, it is the first television series to have multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing series regulars, and scenes shot entirely in American Sign Language. Marlee Matlin guest stars. Because of this, the series not only exposes the American public to the deaf community, it also has the power to educate us about important related issues: last week
