Switched at Birth was an incredibly unique teen/family drama series as it was the first TV series to have multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing series regulars. There were also scenes shot entirely in American Sign Language! The show tackles the nature vs. nurture debate as it followed two teenage girls who were switched at birth, grew up in two totally different environments and are reconnected later in life. After five successful seasons, Switched at Birth came to an end in April 2017. In honor of its recent series finale, here’s a look at 8 behind the scenes secrets from the show!
8. Sign Language On-Set
Many of the actors and actresses on set had to learn American Sign Language for the show, so producers had experts on set to teach those who didn’t know it and to make sure the sign language used by Katie Leclerc, Sean Berdy, Constance Marie and Marlee Matlin was similar. Vanessa Marano said she had a particularly hard time learning! “It was really hard for me to learn ASL. I did not do it fast. Everyone has been really nice like everyone’s super complimentary, like ‘Oh my god, you picked it up so fast, you’re doing so well.’ And I know they’re just like babying me to make me feel better,” she joked.
ABC FAMILY/Ron Tom
