Switched at Birth's Inaccuracies?

Emmer

Emmer

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Did anyone else feel like the portrayal of communicating with a Deaf person wasn't portrayed very well in the recent television show, Switched at Birth? I haven't watched all of the episodes, but from what I've seen, especially Daphne seems to be seen as a super lip reader.

Yes there are times when John says something to her and her back is turned, but there are other times that she hears something that is said when someone has their back to them or their face is covered. They do have examples of her not catching something said, but I feel like her lip reading skills are unrealistic. I know I have a hard time reading someone's lips when they are turned to the side, yet she does this effortlessly. I know my lip reading skills aren't great, but can you really read them that well by the side?

Also, is it just me, or was Regina's signing...choppy? Almost. Like. She. Signed. Like. This. Stopping between signs instead of flowing? Though I must say, I'm glad that her character took the time to actually learn sign! So many parents don't...

I did like that the Kennishes were seen as a family who were pretty much clueless about the Deaf community, but eventually wised up. I liked that John wanted her to get the CI, but she refused and how her mom stood up for her. I also like that Katherine started to learn how to sign.

Does anyone else think that Emmett (Sean Berdy) is cute? :hmm: I also have seen him in some commercial thing for a video communication thing - Mossdeux or something? But he was much younger.
 
You have to be very careful with judging lipreading/speechreading and saying it's inaccurate or not. I know plenty of deaf people who can lipread just as well as the way Daphne lipreads. Granted, she would be in the top level, but it's not impossible.

There are plenty of inaccuracies, sure. But why are you focusing on the negative when the overall portrayal of Deafness is overwhelmingly positive and accurate? I can forgive them a few hiccups when they have the overall message correct.
 
Sorry if this seemed overly negative. I loved the show and want to watch the rest, except NetFlix does not have captions on it. I may have to buy DVD if it comes out on them. In this post, I decided to focus on what I felt was inaccurate, I was just wondering if this was things that I noticed or if it was agreed upon by others. Don't take this to mean that I did not like the show or did not think there were good aspects in it. There were MANY good aspects that I appreciated greatly.

I definitely agree with you about varying lip-reading abilities, but I was speaking about in general? I feel like it gives the public the idea that you can talk to a Deaf person just like you talk to a hearing person, turning your back, covering your mouth, etc. I personally found Bay's lips very hard to read, she tends to smile while talking in a strange way and talk without moving her lips. I could hear the sounds, but not understand what she said without captions.

Totally off topic - your avatar, is that Purdue? I met someone today with a Purdue shirt (transfer) on and the logo looked similar...just found that interesting!
 
I do not know about this show. Rarely watch TV but I think I will when this one comes on if it ever does. Search PVR and there is nothing?

For me, I *can* read side of mouth but only on some people. It depend how well they naturally annunciate. Sometimes I cannot even lipread face to face because they mumble.

So, maybe not *overly* unrealistic. Maybe in their consultation that talk to someone who *can* lipread side of mouth?

I'm happy that there is a show on TV that I might be able to relate to.
 
It is on ABC Family,

I found you can watch some episodes online with captions at - ABC Family - Switched at Birth - Videos However I do not know if you can view these outside of the US or not.

If/when it comes out on DVD, I will try to remember to post here so that others can also watch it.
 
There's some things about the show that kind of rubs me the wrong way but I won't say why. I'm a hearing person so it's not my place. But I will say that it's a drama geared towards young adults with emphasis on DRAMA, lol.

It is what it is. Despite some groan-inducing moments, I actually kind of like it. :)
 
Emmer said:
It is on ABC Family,

I found you can watch some episodes online with captions at - ABC Family - Switched at Birth - Videos However I do not know if you can view these outside of the US or not.

If/when it comes out on DVD, I will try to remember to post here so that others can also watch it.
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Not available in Canada. Can watch on YouTube, very hard no captions. Understand all ASL bits lol.
 
I never heard it I am puzzled it it is sound pretty aware it!
 
My hearing friend said she notices that Daphene's voice goes from sounding like my voice to hearing like. Love how everyone mentions it and thinks of me...LOL.
 
deafdyke said:
My hearing friend said she notices that Daphene's voice goes from sounding like my voice to hearing like. Love how everyone mentions it and thinks of me...LOL.
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The actress that plays Daphne is HOH. Maybe you already knew that, though. :)
 
deafdyke said:
I did yes.........but I mean one second she has a deaf voice, and the next second she talks like a hearing person?
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That I cannot explain. To be honest, to me it sounds like she's constantly speaking with a deaf accent. Either that or I'm just not playing close enough attention. :hmm::
 
There are definitely times when I "hear" her as speaking like a hearie. This seems to be when she is really mad. I do not know if I just hear it less or if she does it less. I think it would be like any actor using an accent not their original language.
 
TV shows have never been able to have 100% accuracy behind the characters for fictional shows.

Yeah, I hear people saying that the show isn't the same as real life.
I say this to you: many shows have incorrect impersonations of someone in real life.

Blind people, it shows them as disabled or weak, unable to take care of themselves, need help for life. Not true.
Clowns get shown as scary or weirdo people on some shows. Not true.
Black people get shown as poor or no money, ghetto, gangsters. Not true for all of them.
Gay/lesbian characters get shown as high pitched voice, wear funny clothes and sometimes nerdy, looking very weird or getting beat up by people. Not true. In real life I've met gay/lesbian/bi who are completely normal and don't act like that at all.

TV just can't be perfect. There may be reason why it can't.
One show on air right now has a near-perfect character in disability.
In AMC's Breaking Bad, Walter Jr is shown to have Cerebal Palsy. In real life, the actor has CP and is normal as he is in the show as in reality.
 
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