3408 replies to this topic

[scarlett45]

I searched and could not find a thread for this show which premiered June 6 on ABC Family.

Switched at Birth, a one-hour scripted drama, tells the story of two teenage girls who discover they were accidentally switched as newborns in the hospital. Bay Kennish grew up in a wealthy family with two parents and a brother, while Daphne Vasquez, who lost her hearing at an early age due to a case of meningitis, grew up with a single mother in a working-class neighborhood. Things come to a dramatic head when both families meet and struggle to learn how to live together for the sake of the girls.

Switched at Birth stars newcomer Katie Leclerc as Daphne Vasquez; Vanessa Marano (Gilmore Girls) as Bay Kennish; Constance Marie (George Lopez) as Regina Vasquez; D.W. Moffett (Friday Night Lights) as John Kennish; Lea Thompson (Back to the Future, Caroline in the City) as Kathryn Kennish; and Lucas Grabeel (High School Musical) as Toby Kennish.

Lizzy Weiss (Blue Crush), Paul Stupin (Make It or Break It) and John Ziffren (Melissa & Joey, Make It or Break It) serve as executive producers.

I enjoyed the show. However I feel the character Bay suffers from "poor little rich girl" syndrome, and started out as a caricature- cut out the teen angst why don't you? I find Daphne much easier to relate to, which is probably the choice on the part of the writers given that audiences may think that the character with the "disability" would either be 1. the wise old sage tv trope or 2. a point of sympathy. Daphne seems to be the only character that acknowledges that this is not all about her and what she wants, yet she and her Mom are the ones that have to deal with the most change (moving, new school etc). The parents are suffering from territorial issues.........ah.......

Side note- I wonder if the guy on the motorcycle is Daphne's boyfriend or just a friend? I think she said "friend". How is Liam going to play into all this?

What does everyone else think?

[Care Bear Love]

This new show is about two teen girls who find out that they were (drum roll) switched at birth. It starts tonight on ABC Family after Secret Life. Official site.

I'm not too excited about the premiere. The promos don't look particularly great but ABC Family has pretty good cred with me. I don't know though; for every Greek or PLL, there's always a SLotAT. I just hope it's better than MIoBI. I need something good on Monday nights.

Anyone else watching?

[kimmykaybee]

I tuned into the premiere because I adore Lucas Grabeel and I was interested to see how they handle the concept of biological family vs. family you grew up with/real family. I don't hold much stock in premiers because they tend to be pretty bad anyways, so I will definitely tune in next week.

I don't know though; for every Greek or PLL, there's always a SLotAT. I just hope it's better than MIoBI. I need something good on Monday nights.

Well, to be fair, SLotAT sets a very low bar, so here's hoping Switched at Birth is not worse than that show. ;)

[maraleia]

I really enjoyed the premiere episode and all the characters are compelling. The casting is brilliant and I love that people are going to learn about the deaf community via this show.

I can't wait to see how the adults cope with living in such close quarters. Lea and Constance play off each other very well as do Vanessa and Katie.

[oxymoron417]

Wow, I was so unimpressed by the pilot. I'll continue to watch because pilot episodes are not always telling, but to me, it just fell flat. I hope it improves because I wanted to like the show.

I'd much rather see Bay/Regina than her mom and dad, because they kind of suck. The dad is such a douche.

I love Daphne. Anyone else think she could totally be related to Rachel McAdams?

Like I said, not totally sold. Of course Bay and the neighborhood guy will hook up, and Daphne and Liam. But hey, it has to be better that SL!

[TeeVee329]

I stumbled upon this while channel surfing and, gotta say, enjoyed it. Good cast, interesting premise (the family vs. family part, not so much the million love interest they threw at each other girl), curious to see where it goes.

Also, did anyone else notice a vibe between Daphne's BFF (the motorcycle riding deaf boy) and Bay's brother?

[Bkwrm]

Those parents are CREEPY. I itched just looking at them.


I wanted to slap the hell out them for their barely concealed bigotry and attitude towards their "imperfect" natural child.

Edited by Bkwrm, Jun 6, 2011 @ 10:03 PM.

[Jayson79]

I thought the pilot set up the show and characters quite nicely. The parents aren't natural accepting/perfect.. which makes it more compelling. Daphne is so fun/likeable while Bay is such a snarky smart aleck... great contrast between both girls.

I do agree with the vibe between Bay's brother and Daphne's best friend. Not sure what that vibe is.. but I have a feeling it'll lead to something.

Dare I say that this show was actually kind of deep for an ABC family show LOL

[insanityproject]

I liked this. Very good casting. I heard on some interview that the boy who plays Daphne's friend is actually deaf in real life. I learned something new, too -- I didn't realize some deaf people choose not to have the cochlear implant even if they could afford it and that the sounds are "electronic". Now I need to do some actual research because I realize there's a ton I don't know.

I'm curious about Bay's bio-dad, exactly how Daphne got sick, and how the inevitable Bay/Liam/Daphne love triangle plays out.

[bluvelvet]

Caught the episode tonight, thought it was solid, not anything spectacular.

I really liked Daphne and thought Bay definitely came off as the spoiled little rich girl. That whole bit with the smoking and piercing her ears because that's what her life was supposed to be came across as very classist.

The rich parent also came across as douche's, I felt as if they wanted to keep Bay and then take Daphne away. The whole background check thing and threatening with a lawyer was so entitled. I wish Daphne had found out about the background check and told them where to get off.

I will tune in next week though.

[johchi]

I will keeping watching, but the rich parents left me deeply annoyed. They do what rich people often do, which is show up and start taking over and bossing everyone around because they have the money to throw around. They entered the life of a stranger and make one-sided decisions for her to: a) spend time with them, b) get her out of there [her neighboorhood], c) get invasive surgery and extensive speech therapy, and d) change schools. They do all that without even getting to know her or her family first. WTH!! Daphne is not their daughter. She is a new person whom they want to get to know.

I really hope she doesn't change schools just to appease them. Going from a place where you can talk to everyone to a place where you have a hard time communicating with anyone and need an interpreter would be challenging and frustrating. If she wants to go to a hearing school just for a new experience, fine, but don't do it for the parents.

[nilyank]

I really hope she doesn't change schools just to appease them. Going from a place where you can talk to everyone to a place where you have a hard time communicating with anyone and need an interpreter would be challenging and frustrating. If she wants to go to a hearing school just for a new experience, fine, but don't do it for the parents.

I hope she doesn't change schools either. She seems to thrive there and I would like to keep the deaf community as part of the storyline. Plus with having Daphne and her family move into their backyard, she will have enough opportunity to know her new family and bond with Bey without completely uprooting her life.

I do quibble with the fact that the mom said Daphne was named after her father Daniel. There is perfectly good name in Daniela which have fitted the criteria more aptly.

But the rich parents really do bug. The father wanted Daphne to get the cochlear surgery and brought it up as if single mom would have no idea what it was when she clearly is well-versed in issues concerning her deaf daughter. And to argue that Daphne would just have to work harder so she could "hear" with the surgery and additional therapy session, made me wanted to slap him. Maybe he and his wife and the rest of his family should do the work and learn some basic sign language.



I like Bey despite her defensive attitude and poor little rich girl persona. It was interesting to see how much she and single mom were alike in behavior and attitude.

I'm curious about Bay's bio-dad, exactly how Daphne got sick, and how the inevitable Bay/Liam/Daphne love triangle plays out.

I don't think there will be a triangle since Bey broke up with Liam and seem interested in Daphne's friend who was like an older brother to her.

[Josy]

I watched the premiere last night and I thought everything was rushed. In my opinion would have been better to know the relationship of the girls more thoroughly with their families and friends, specially with their mothers first and then letting all the truth about the switch come out.

Why do American shows loves to do the stereotype plot so much??? I was so upset watching the show last night with the "are you mexican?" "I'm half puertorrican", "We need to get her out of there", blah blah blah. Regina is the single mother, who lives in a horrible place, who got two DUI's when she was younger and in top of all that is latina! The other mother, sorry I forgot her name, is the rich, perfect one. I'm puertorrican and I'm sick and tired of watching this plot on my TV screen. There's a lot of us latinos who went to school, I'm a college graduated, who lives in a nice safe place and have never lived in government aid.

I'm curious about Bay's bio-dad, exactly how Daphne got sick, and how the inevitable Bay/Liam/Daphne love triangle plays out.

Well Bay's dad is going to be a drug user or an alcoholic and Daphne got sick because Regina was a neglectful mother who never gave her baby the medical attention she deserved.

[JCR2]

I love the concept of this show. It is definitely one of the better quality shows ABC Family has to offer. The beginning seemed rushed and contrived to implement Daphne's introduction, but it had a strong closing for a premiere. Bay’s rich mother has a lot of growing up to do. Very classy of her to rub the past in Regina Vasquez’s face more than once. Emmett’s opinion of how Daphne became deaf seems unfair to the Vasquez family. I think that was simply out of the Vasquezs’ control and could have been unexpected and too late for treatment. For all the viewers know, the reason why she became deaf might actually be hereditary.

Vanessa makes it so hard for me to forcefully forget her days on Gilmore Girls.

Edited by JCR2, Jun 7, 2011 @ 10:24 AM.

[scarlett45]

Josy I do not think MomKennish comes off as perfect- she kind of screams "rich bitch". This show is cocked full of stereotypes, poor little rich girl, rich bitch grown-ups, understanding empathetic working class single mother......

But it was just the premiere- I hope to see more fleshed out characters as the series progresses. I am happy to see that there is so good multi ethnic eye candy, Liam and neighbor guy were pretty damn cute!

[thefifthofnov]

As a late deafened woman, when I heard there was to be a show with a MAIN character who was deaf I had to see it.

Unfortunately I am not part of the Deaf community, so please don't take anything I say as anything other than solely my opinion and experience.

I know hearing people may cringe at the reactions of the married parents, but quite honestly it is pretty much everything that someone asks me about once they figure out I can not hear well. It was so nice to see a deaf character realizing she likes who she is and she is the person she is BECAUSE she is deaf not in spite of it. That's not to say she wouldn't be a wonderful person had she always had perfect hearing, just that she likes this version of herself. It's really hard for the hearing world to understand. If there was a magical pill that made me hear again (I started losing it when I was 17, and ended up with a profound loss by 26) I would probably end up taking it, but it would be after huge emotional turmoil. I know for a fact I wouldn't be who I am today, and in my case, I doubt I would like the person a hearing version of myself would end up like.

The one thing I didn't really like in regards to the deaf aspect. I wish the single mother (can't remember names right now) would have given the reasons why NOT to get an implant first and then mention that her daughter does not want it. It's far from a black and white issue, and most of the hearing world thinks it is. Without even getting in to the emotional reasons the Deaf Community is conflicted on implants, there are numerous medical reasons, varying "success", not to mention that cost, which is usually not covered one penny by insurance.

Josy, while watching I was thinking "Well not too much us deafies can nitpick, but holy crap are Puerto Ricans gonna be justifiably pissed!" It was just too much! But it is the pilot, and hopefully as more episodes come, we will see the rich mother knocked off her high horse.

I frequent a deaf forum. An ABCfamily representative was dispatched to plug the show. Directing people where to watch online. Of course many posters were excited and went off to watch, only to report back "they didn't freaking caption the freaking show! morons!" lmao. After further reading it seems ABCFamily went back and captioned ALL online shows, which is awesome! Hoping one day I can get rid of cable, but until more start captioning online content....well I'll just keep forking over $$

[HybridIce]

I stumbled onto this show by accident, though I've seen the ads, I wasn't that much interested in the show. By boredom only, I decided to watch it and was completely surprise by the show and the added deaf community. That's something you don't see often, or at all, and it intruded me enough to stick around, among other aspects. That being said...

I'm right there with you thefifthofnov, though my situation is very similar to Daphne's. I too was a child who got a virus and lost hearing, though I am not deaf, I did lose a significant amount to be classified as one. So the character hits very close to home with me, which is one of the reasons I want to stick around. Another reason is because she living the life I never had, my parents had no knowledge on what to do with a kid who could barely hear and while I'm sure they did the best they could, I wished they had done more such as Daphne's mother. I can understand her concern with putting Daphne in a public school where kids make fun of you for not being able to hear, because that's what happen to me. At a young age it can help to be around people who's similar and thrive and it helps boost your self esteem. I've never had that and always felt like an outsider, but Daphne got to live her life without children taunts. Now she's grown and can choose what she wants, she has enough confident to not worry what other says about her, and I wish I had her life because of that, or at least wish my parents had some kind of knowledge.

I'm 24, and I've came to terms with it, but I've hated it for a very long time. In the end when Daphne said that Bay was her in another life, I completely felt the same about her, in relation to myself, regarding the hearing aspect. So, I'll keep watching, and wondering how different my life would have been had I had the same opportunities that she given.

As for Bay, I couldn't relate to her much, but I did somewhat understand because yes, the rich parents were a couple of bitches. They had a daughter for 16/17 years and while she's not blood related, they're her daughter. Suddenly they find their blood daughter and it's as though Bay is the ugly step sister. I can see why Bay lashed out the way she did, if only for the attention that she used to have before they found their blood daughter.

I also didn't like their intrusion in Daphne's life; trying to get the surgery and moving her to a different school to "correct" what her mother screwed up. She's comfortable in her life, and likes who she is, who were they to claim ownership of that, but also who was her mother to decide for her? I found it funny that when Bay had her nose ring and Daphne's mother was like "it's her body, her choice" yet couldn't implement the same mentality when it came to her daughter about the surgery. All three parents need to take a step back, I can understand the awkwardness and sudden change in life, and the "what if" questions, but what done is done and in the end the girls are nprobably pretty happy with how their lives turned out.

However, I did have one compliant. While I don't know much about the deaf community, I do know from personal experience that someone with a hearing issue at such a young age would not be able to talk as well as Daphne did. It kind of took me out of the moment every time she spoke with no pauses for how to pronounce a word, or other speech defects. Now if I'm wrong please correct me because as said, I'm going from my own personal speaking experience, but I expected less speaking and more signing.

The one thing I didn't really like in regards to the deaf aspect. I wish the single mother (can't remember names right now) would have given the reasons why NOT to get an implant first and then mention that her daughter does not want it. It's far from a black and white issue, and most of the hearing world thinks it is. Without even getting in to the emotional reasons the Deaf Community is conflicted on implants, there are numerous medical reasons, varying "success", not to mention that cost, which is usually not covered one penny by insurance.

Yes! It was Daphne's choice, not the mother. I too would have liked a list of reasons, as I've never heard of this surgery (very oblivious to the deaf community unfortunately), and would have liked a reason why she didn't approve. As said before, she had no problem with Bay's nose ring but had a problem with the surgery without a reason why, and while I know there's more at risk with a surgery than a needle through the nose, it was still Daphne's decision. How did she know she did not want it? Did she ever talk about it with her? I doubt it, and I felt that it was more of a defense mechanism more than anything.

Sorry for the long post guys...

Edited by HybridIce, Jun 7, 2011 @ 1:17 PM.

[Care Bear Love]

I liked it. For a pilot, I would give it a B. The premise is very Hallmark/Lifetime, which is why the promos didn't grab me, but the execution was better than I thought. The characters are compelling and I think everyone plays off each other well/as they're supposed to. The only person I didn't really like was the dad although I thought he was less of a douche than the mom as he at least tried to be the voice of reason. I think it was just that the dad didn't have a lot of chemistry with anyone. His scene with Daphne was good but the rest kind of fell flat.

The entire hour of the premiere, I hoped and prayed that Daphne and her mom would not move in with them but in the the final act, alas... Is the "Mark Twain" premise not enough that they have to live together too?! Ugh.

I thought they hit the similarities between the bio mother/daughter pairs a little too hard, especially with Bay and her mother. There were four or five different moments where we were supposed to go, 'oh, they're just alike; that's who she gets it from!' I didn't mind the last one, when Grandma pointed it out for Bay's benefit, but everything else was a little overkill in my opinion. One thing I missed with this premiere was the relationship between Bay and her bio mom, Regina. I thought the setup was nice- they're a lot a like and resistant to the change causing Bay to feel left adrift -but the follow through wasn't great at all. They took too long showing Bay's rebellion and left Regina and Bay's connection to the single reprimand in the kitchen. I think that storyline was the most compelling in the pilot but it was not done well. The "you have two mothers now so get used to it" line fell waaay flat. Hopefully, it'll be rectified in the next few episodes but that was a big chance they missed.

ETC: Bay's bio mom is Regina, which I did not know before.

Edited by Care Bear Love, Jun 7, 2011 @ 4:01 PM.

[thefifthofnov]

HybridIce, You seem somewhat similar to me. Stuck between two worlds, both of which don't really understand YOU! lol. Your story is a reason why, to me, the Deaf Community is God Sent to so many. My hearing loss does run in my family, but I am the first one to say I am deaf, my elders were basically shamed, and everyone denied that anyone in the following generations would lose their hearing (my case is much more severe then anyone else in my family). I wish I had a strong community that I could run to, talk with, laugh with, who GET me. I see everyday how much ASL would benefit my life. I see how how ASL would benefit all who will eventually have a hearing loss. Why it isn't taught from pre-K on I have no idea. It is an American Language and there is always a benefit to being able to "speak" with out a voice. I do think deaf children should be taught to be oral, it just makes it easier on them if they end up not having a strong Deaf Community around them. Of course I think multiple languages should be forced on as many children as we can, lol, hearing or not! The more people one can communicate with, the better!

As for how well Daphne speaks (I read she is only partially deaf, and her voice on the show is not her natural voice), it depends on so many factors. Ability, drive (I am sure it would be exhausting to learn), how much loss there really is, finances or access to free programs, and the main one, the parents thoughts on oralism.

I don't think Bay was a spoiled rich girl either. I felt for her. At her age I doubt she really realized what may happen....that hey my parents will have a new daughter. Now add the fact that this new daughter has something they don't understand and need to "fix", and well Bay is kind of tossed to the wayside. Their focus was so much on Daphne's deafness that it is no wonder Bay reacted the way she did. I probably would have also! Bay's bio mom didn't even seem, until the very end, to really care that she had another daughter also. She blamed it on the financial differences, but she seemed more into "protecting" her deaf daughter (who didn't need it or want it!) then getting to know her long lost artistically talented daughter. I freaking loved the "art" on the walls!

I always wondered what I would do if I found one of my kids had been switched. I think I would have to build one big commune, because I would need all in my life, and would assume the other set of parents felt the same way. Luckily all 3 of my kids look EXACTLY like their father, so not to worried about it!

[camom]

I don't know the answer, so I'm asking those who do...since Daphne didn't lose her hearing until age 3, wouldn't her speech be better than that of someone who had never heard or spoken? Especially if she was closer to age 4 and was a verbal child.

[scarlett45]

camom I would agree with your analysis. I'm not surprised by Daphne's language skills given that she was 3yrs old when she lost her hearing.

[jessied112]

I don't know the answer, so I'm asking those who do...since Daphne didn't lose her hearing until age 3, wouldn't her speech be better than that of someone who had never heard or spoken? Especially if she was closer to age 4 and was a verbal child.

Yes, actual, this was what I was thinking when I read the question in the forum about why Daphne could speak so well. Because she was three when she lost her hearing, she still could hear and differentiate sounds for the first three years of her life. It's not like she never had her hearing, so her speech may be off, but it wouldn't be as bad as somebody who actually could never hear in their life. I am half deaf, meaning my right ear is completely deaf and my left ear can hear but not as much as normal people (though it is still relatively strong) and I have been told that I do have a funny accent to my voice. I've had unilateral hearing loss since birth so it all depends on the situation. If I had lost my hearing in one of my ears when I was, let's say five, the 'accent' or speech of mine probably wouldn't be prominent at all. It might be distracting sometimes, but it wouldn't be prominent/noticeable.

The pilot was actually pretty solid. I like most of the characters, though the parents could all use a little bit of work. Daphne's mom seems to be a strong woman, which is a good thing. She also clearly loves her daughter and that's great. Bay's parents seem a little taken aback and a little bitchy but given the circumstance, I'd say to give it a few episodes and if they don't change, then be concerned. Bay seems like a normal teenager and I like seeing her struggle with the knowledge that she isn't their real daughter. I like the brother, Toby a lot. He seemed to be hesitant at first but I think he's growing used to the fact that his biological sister is deaf. I am absolutely loving Daphne. She seems like a strong, confident teenager who is comfortable for who she is. I like that she's proving everyone wrong.

I think I'll be watching the show until the end of the season, maybe even longer.

[RachelKM]

II found the presentation of the parents a little more balance than others on this board seemed to do.

I saw Kristin (LT's character) character as a kind, but somewhat perfectionist type who was completely thrown by the idea that she could be so horrible a parent not to have realized that she had the wrong baby. It seemed that a lot of her hostility toward the other mom was more about feeling threatened and projection of her insecurities. She needed Daphne's mom to be more flawed.

I saw the dad's attempts to "fix" Daphne's life, as well has her deafness, to be less about bigotry - whether ethnic, economic, or impairment based - and more about a parent (and perhaps a males) natural inclination to want to make everything better for their child combined with the zeal of over compensation. He should not have approached Daphne about the school without discussing it with her mother nor asked Daphne to keep a secret. (However, I think it was pretty well telegraphed that Regina would reject it.)

I thought the Kennishes (sp?) reaction to Daphne being deaf was pretty realistic. I didn't see it as a bigoted response. Every parent wants their child to have as easy a life as possible and deafness does create obstacles. It's very difficult to for a person with perfect hearing to conceive of how someone without out it can be satisfied with their life or not want to "fix" it. I would imagine a lot of parents who face potential deafness in their children look for a "fix."

As Regina, I get what people are saying about the stereotypes. But I think she was more supposed to be broke and Bohemian. My impression was that she was only Puerto Rican for the opportunity for Kristen to make the "Are you Mexican" mistake. In a lot of ways, Regina was presented as the more open and supportive parent. The only exception was her response to Daphne's request to change schools. I think she was genuinely afraid for her daughter remembering how she'd been isolated and teased in school before. But I also think it was a knee-jerk reaction to Daphne accepting anything for those other "rich" parents. She didn't actually ask Daphne if she wanted to go.

The show didn't make it explicit that appeasing the Kennishes was Daphne's only consideration in attending the prep school. She said that she knew it was important them and that her mom would freak at the suggestion, but it wasn't clear how she felt independent of her obligations to her parents.

Edited by RachelKM, Jun 7, 2011 @ 4:08 PM.

[CalhounRg]

I think the only thing lacking in the pilot really was Regina's (Poor mom) POV. She is never shown trying to connect with Bay, we never see her react to finding out that Daphne went to the prep school with the other parents without even trying to clear it with her, and she is now being put down for her life choices by the rich family. She doesn't really have many reactions or actions in the pilot and when she does--they are halfhearted moments.

That said---I did like the show even with the mixed messages. (The PR girl likes to do graffiti, dates a black boy, likes to look edgy, tries to get piercings, smoking, has a fake id and sneaks beers---yikes.) But the fact that the brother Toby is used (unlike brother on some ABC Family shows--PLL), the deaf friend Emmett is cute and interesting (and the little moment between him & Toby about the sneakers--loves it), Liam is dreamy as well.

The parents are all well cast--I like the addition of the grandmother to balance out the family sizes. I just want a handful of teen friends to balance out the story. Oh--and for the hood boy to go away. Bores me!!!

PS Is it weird that I wanted to know how Emmett drove his motorcycle being fully deaf... just seemed so dangerous and expected a reaction to that.

[scarlett45]

I'm sure he can feel the vibrations of the motorcycle and other traffic noise. If there are sirens he would be able to see the flashing lights.

[HybridIce]

My hearing loss does run in my family, but I am the first one to say I am deaf, my elders were basically shamed, and everyone denied that anyone in the following generations would lose their hearing (my case is much more severe then anyone else in my family). I wish I had a strong community that I could run to, talk with, laugh with, who GET me. I see everyday how much ASL would benefit my life. I see how how ASL would benefit all who will eventually have a hearing loss. Why it isn't taught from pre-K on I have no idea.

I'm sorry to hear that, it's a shame when you feel like even your family doesn't understand what you're going through. Same have happened to me a few times. A lot of time people (family and friends alike) says I choose to not hear them, and it's frustrating cause it's not that I "choose" to not hear what they say, it's that I can't. It's hard when your family can't even back you up, so I get you on that issue. I agree with the ASL being taught from pre-k, but at least things are a bit better now than it used to be for hearing impaired.

As for how well Daphne speaks (I read she is only partially deaf, and her voice on the show is not her natural voice)...

If so, that makes me feel a little better.

I don't know the answer, so I'm asking those who do...since Daphne didn't lose her hearing until age 3, wouldn't her speech be better than that of someone who had never heard or spoken? Especially if she was closer to age 4 and was a verbal child.

I didn't lose my hearing till I was 3/4, and I still have problem saying a lot of words. A lot of times people think I'm just mumbling and I past it off as that because it's less hassle to try and get people to understand what I'm saying. Yes, she had a good amount to learn, but at the age of 3 there's not of words that a child can say, not to mention it depends on if the child wants to talk. While I may talk fairly well, there's certain sounds that I could never hear and thus could never differ. For example chair and share. It depends on the environment, and other factors, as said by thefifthofnov. While I'm sure there are some out there that have perfect speech with hearing lost at a young age, through extensive therapy, I can't help but feel as though it's a little unrealistic considering the situation Daphne and her mom are in currently. Again, I'm only going off personal experience. I could be wrong.

Yes, actual, this was what I was thinking when I read the question in the forum about why Daphne could speak so well. Because she was three when she lost her hearing, she still could hear and differentiate sounds for the first three years of her life. It's not like she never had her hearing, so her speech may be off, but it wouldn't be as bad as somebody who actually could never hear in their life. I am half deaf, meaning my right ear is completely deaf and my left ear can hear but not as much as normal people (though it is still relatively strong) and I have been told that I do have a funny accent to my voice. I've had unilateral hearing loss since birth so it all depends on the situation. If I had lost my hearing in one of my ears when I was, let's say five, the 'accent' or speech of mine probably wouldn't be prominent at all. It might be distracting sometimes, but it wouldn't be prominent/noticeable.

But we didn't hear any of her speech being off. Which was my main compliant. She doesn't have to be completely defected in her speech patterns, but she spoke perfectly well and giving the conditions she lived in (i.e. background noise, etc) I would imagine she would miss some sort of sound(s) pattern. Such as myself, as mentioned above between chair and share, and a lot of other words. Again, I would have to say that it's the environment that you grow in that affects how well one's speech may be.

P.S. I also get that "accent" issue from people. I don't pay much mind to it as I'd rather the "accent" comment over many others. Plus, I get to play it off well and have fun with people, haha.

PS Is it weird that I wanted to know how Emmett drove his motorcycle being fully deaf... just seemed so dangerous and expected a reaction to that.

He would have to pay a lot of attention to his surrounding (which is something that can be taught to pick up different signals), and as scarlett45 said, vibrations. There's also some products out there that helps deaf people to drive such as flashing lights if people are getting too close or whatever. You'd be surprise. At my work, I had a customer who was deaf recommend me a site and I was quite surprise by how much products out there to help.

Edited by HybridIce, Jun 7, 2011 @ 4:22 PM.

[jessied112]

But we didn't hear any of her speech being off. Which was my main compliant. She doesn't have to be completely defected in her speech patterns, but she spoke perfectly well and giving the conditions she lived in (i.e. background noise, etc) I would imagine she would miss some sort of sound(s) pattern. Such as myself, as mentioned above between chair and share, and a lot of other words. Again, I would have to say that it's the environment that you grow in that affects how well one's speech may be.

P.S. I also get that "accent" issue from people. I don't pay much mind to it as I'd rather the "accent" comment over many others. Plus, I get to play it off well and have fun with people, haha.

I'm not an expert, so I could be completely wrong in my assumptions. Maybe her speech isn't off because she practices speaking orally with her mother, grandmother and maybe even some people at her school? Or maybe she did have a speech therapist at one time or another to help her? I'm not sure; it is the pilot, so we'll see what they'll tell us.

It's kind of weird because I don't hear myself with an accent, but other people do so it gets really strange when people ask 'oh, where are you from? What kind of accent is that?'. It also kinda gets annoying but a couple of my friends have commented that it's different in a nice way. I like joking with people, though and say it's because I'm adopted from Russia that I developed a Russian accent. It gets them every time.

[HybridIce]

I'm not an expert, so I could be completely wrong in my assumptions. Maybe her speech isn't off because she practices speaking orally with her mother, grandmother and maybe even some people at her school? Or maybe she did have a speech therapist at one time or another to help her? I'm not sure; it is the pilot, so we'll see what they'll tell us.

It's kind of weird because I don't hear myself with an accent, but other people do so it gets really strange when people ask 'oh, where are you from? What kind of accent is that?'. It also kinda gets annoying but a couple of my friends have commented that it's different in a nice way. I like joking with people, though and say it's because I'm adopted from Russia that I developed a Russian accent. It gets them every time.

If I'm coming off as a bitch, I apologize. We all come from different backgrounds, and we are affected different ways. So of course our perspectives are going to differ. You do make a good point about her mother and grandmother being around to speak.

I guess we can say I'm a bit jealous, yes this is a t.v. show, but in a lot of ways I find her life a lot easier than I, or anyone else, had in life.

I'm African American, so I tell people I'm from Jamaican, ha. I find it amusing that they believe me. It can get annoying being asked a lot, but as said I prefer the accent over "O.M.G is that a hearing aid, are you deaf?" question. I choose/chose to hide it for the fact that I got that a lot as a kid and made fun of because of it, and it just feels like a disability when people mention it when I don't believe it is. There are far worst disabilities out there than being able to hear to your capability.

[jessied112]

If I'm coming off as a bitch, I apologize. We all come from different backgrounds, and we are affected different ways. So of course our perspectives are going to differ. You do make a good point about her mother and grandmother being around to speak.

Oh no, of course you're not being a bitch! Not even in the slightest! Like you said, there's different opinions and knowledge to being deaf from our own experiences and backgrounds, so it's just wonderful to hear different perspectives on this. I'm not even fully deaf so I have a completely different experience to people that are completely deaf or hard of hearing.

You see, that is just the opposite with me. I guess because I am only half deaf that people have never asked me if I was deaf. People just asked where I was from and why I have an accent. In a way, I didn't understand why people were asking me that (and why I DID have an accent) until a few years ago. My parents aren't very knowledgeable about it. They know, but they seem to forget a lot of times. They yell at me if I don't hear them and they seem to forget that sometimes, it's not my fault. Then again, I sometimes use the half deafness to an advantage...

So I was never teased about having an 'accent'. Other things, yes, but never because I'm half deaf. I do agree that there are worse things than being deaf, just like Regina said on the show. I think being deaf is the least of people's problems. In my opinion, being blind would be worse.

[Featherhat]

I haven't had a chance to watch this yet, but apparently it did really well last night.

http://tvbythenumber...-records/94995/

If those numbers hold next week and Nine Lives of Chloe King hits too next week, it really will be "eat your heart out CW" time.

Edited by Featherhat, Jun 7, 2011 @ 4:56 PM.