Switched at Birth- Ask Katie Leclerc

[astar691]

Will u teach me some sign language. I no 30 words already. :)

[GRANDerzBritney]

Katie is hard of hearing. She was doing a project for school and volunteered to have her ears checked for part of the project. There they told her she was hard of hearing and qualified for hearing aids but couldn't get them because they were too expensive. Some days she can hear just fine and others she can't hear at all. When she joined the switched at birth cast she finally got the hearing aids she had needed for quite awhile.

[SuperNaturalMotel]

is she really deaf or does she just act it because she sounds So Good Here but on the show, She still speaks well on the show but not as good as she does here. Why Is that? Is it because she's not really deaf, or am i missing something? Cuz i saw an interview where they were looking for heard of hearing or deaf actors!! So I dunno, And I Love this Show.

[07makeupyourworld]

@SuperNaturalMotel she is not really deaf

[jocochey]

@SuperNaturalMotel She actually has an inner ear disorder which causes her to lose her hearing, but she was diagnoised when she was 20 so it didn't affect her speech.

[sugaluv4141]

That's a lot of hours

[dirtbikegurl125]

i am hard of hearing and its really hard to talk like a normal person

[alaniyla]

@dirtbikegurl125 um she was diagnosed with it when she was at the end of her high school years thats why she can probably talk a lot better then you can.

[Brookej67]

I HARD OF HEARING!! I NEED SIGNING! OR CAPTIONING! :(

[deafcamper95]

need a sublitle because im deaf and theres no sign.... :P

[Rose123Hale456]

Why is her voice different from the show? I like her voice here much better

[Knorretjex38]

@Rose123Hale456 because in the show, she plays daphne, a deaf girl ;)

[babydol1892]

@Rose123Hale456 because although katie is hard of hearing, the condition she has didn't get really bad until later in her life, after she already knew how to speak perfectly fine. Where as Daphanie (her character) has been def since she was 3, so she never learned how to speak fluently

[purejesuschick]

@TheConstantSeeker

@saintsuniesha

Casting her was perfectly appropriate. She is hard of hearing due to having Meniere's Disease. It basically turns her hearing on and off at random times and she has waves of vertigo. (To put it as simply as I can.) I've grown up with the deaf culture all my life, trust me, its not offensive.

[pinkcatnet]

Was it hard for u to do alot of sign language?

[sdepeter18]

i like your asl and i want meet you and 4 3 boys and 1girl and you and i like your story

[germandawg15]

she's physically hard of hearing but culturally Deaf

[mandys315]

@germandawg15 i like that explantion

[backpacc]

This actress is actually only partially deaf. I was wondering...is she or isn't she lol she kind of is

[heheheyyuen]

She is such an awesome actress (:

[peacelovemusic12699]

its wierd to hear her voice so regular

[MaddiMitchell]

Wow...It seems like Katie can do everything! She's so pretty and sweet too :)

[cathaterful]

@JamiePagePhotography yh on some days thx

[TheConstantSeeker]

Totally not a personal attack - we are having a discussion void of emotions. However, your assumption that she won the role strictly due to her acting abilities is misguided. I can guarantee that there are much more talented DEAF actors out there. And I think even you'd agree that there are more deaf actors in the US than there are african girls in your school. Therefore it would be more difficult to find a talented african girl in a single school than to find a talented deaf actor in the US.

[justbeinuss]

im so used to heaing daphenes voice lol

[laughitout7432]

@TheConstantSeeker oh thanks(: didnt know that

[TheAlyssa2120]

i thought tht gurrl was realii deaf

[blakeywheels]

@TheAlyssa2120 ya, she is, she's just not totally deaf, and it goes on and off, so she can talk normally

emmett and his mom are both totally deaf though

[CupcakeGirlz66]

like this if you think they should have one for sean berdy

[laughitout7432]

She's hard of hearing not deaf so she can talk but she can't hear

[TheConstantSeeker]

@laughitout7432 She's barely even hard of hearing. She hears normally in one ear and has fluctuating residual hearing in the other. Seems a little unfair that she's playing a deaf character when she herself isn't deaf.

[juicyjuice1958]

@TheConstantSeeker How is that unfair??? So is it unfair to play a nice character if you're mean? Or viceversa? Or is it unfair to play a musical prodigy when YOu actually arent? NOOOO . THAT'S WHY ITS CALLED ACTING!!!!

[TheConstantSeeker]

@juicyjuice1958 Cultural/minority sensitivity is the issue. There is a shortage of actual musical prodigies, therefore a non-musical prodigy could safely play a prodigy. However, there there is NOT a shortage of deaf actors. It would be like getting a white person to put on blackface to play a black character when there are plenty of black actors waiting for roles.

[cathaterful]

@TheConstantSeeker umm actually it's not unfair for her to play a deaf character. i mean i'm pretty sure that allot of deaf/hard of hearing actors tried out or the role and didn't get it bc she is an awesome actor it's like in one of the plays the drama department in my school put on i am indian and i had to play an african girl bc the african girls that tried out weren't good actors so maybe the deaf actors weren't as good than katie and i'm not trying to attack you or anyting BTW

[JamiePagePhotography]

@cathaterful Just a FYI she is partially deaf

[schoenesmaedchen]

@TheConstantSeeker Katie is not deaf (in that she can't hear anything at all, ever), she is hard-of-hearing. She has Menières disease, which is a disease of the inner ear which affects things like balance and hearing. People with Menière's disease can have episodes of ringing in the ears, feelings of vertigo, feelings of pressure or fullness in the ears, and also fluctuating hearing loss. Katie herself has said that some days she can't hear anything, other days she only hears partially.

[schoenesmaedchen]

@TheConstantSeeker I think Katie works for the role of Daphne on the show, since Daphne contracted Meningitis at age 3, and the antibiotic damaged her hearing. The character of Daphne is not completely deaf either--she wears a hearing aid to help with hearing ambient noise. The deaf characters of Emmett and Melody *are* played by deaf (not hard-of-hearing or hearing) actors, and those actors are amazing. Having a HOH or hearing person play Emmett or Melody would not work, and they know it.

[schoenesmaedchen]

@TheConstantSeeker So while I agree with you that deaf actors (not HOH or hearing) should be chosen for roles like these (Emmett and Melody) in the show, and that deaf actors are extremely talented and should not be replaced by hearing actors in deaf roles, I disagree with the implication that Katie is wrong for this role, or that she should have been passed over for a deaf actor. I think she's great as Daphne, and she fits the parameters of the character she plays.

[TheConstantSeeker]

@schoenesmaedchen I disagree that she "fits the parameters of the character." She is NOT a fluent signer and she does NOT have deaf-like speech. The faking of the deaf "accent" is particularly inappropriate. Producers could have easily found a young, attractive, hard of hearing or deaf girl, who is actually fluent in ASL and has speech abilities. There are plenty out there.

[schoenesmaedchen]

@TheConstantSeeker Ok. To be honest, I can't tell that she's not a fluent signer; it doesn't look forced or rehearsed to me.

[TheConstantSeeker]

@schoenesmaedchen Yeah, you can definitely tell she's not fluent. Some sign misproductions, pausing issues, etc.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker Katie is a fluent signer, she has taken classes in college and she is very good. Not only that, but I'm sure if she's not fluent, working with Sean will help her become more fluent.

[TheConstantSeeker]

@saintsuniesha Are you fluent? How can you tell? It takes a fluent signer to know if someone else is fluent.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker I am a bit fluent, yes. However, I am still learning. She is fairly fluent, you can tell if there is no unnecessary pausing. Yes, there are nesessary pauses in sign language, so if she is pausing, they are most likely nesessary pausing for proper ASL use.Maybe the producers wanted someone who wasn't completely deaf. I do agree that the fake deaf speech was probably not needed as much. Katie is very good at signing. She does bring Daphne to life. Not saying Deaf/HOH wouldn't.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker even if Katie isn't as fluent as people want or anything like that, she'll have a chance to get better. I think that's all that matters is how she proves herself and if she can understand the actors who are deaf (Like Sean Birdy and Marlee Matlin) then more power to you. That's all I'm really saying.

I believe she is fluent, but that's my opinion. Glad that you can express your opinions with cursing every 5 words. (Not trying to sound cocky or anything.)

[TheConstantSeeker]

@saintsuniesha HA. Yes, I can express myself without cursing. :-) Her fluency is advanced at best, not superior. The character has been signing since infantcy. Katie doesn't fit that description or ability level. Proving herself is irrelevant. Being understood by Berdy and Matlin is irrelevant. Cultrual /minority sensitivity is all that matters and the show is being insensitive by casting a non-Deaf actor as a Deaf character.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker I get that a show like this needs to have the culture of the Deaf Community. It is important, I get that. However, it would be easy to cast a Deaf person to show Deaf culture, it takes skill (even if it is not a lot at the moment) for a hearing person to do that. I like the show because it does show somewhat of what a Deaf person goes through with hearing people. That's all I've been trying to say. I think she is doing fairly well. That's all.

[TheConstantSeeker]

@saintsuniesha It would also be easy to cast an Italian person as a Latino person. Or an Indian person to play a Middle Eastern person. Ease has NOTHING to do with it. It's about appropriateness and sensativity! Her casting was not appropriate or sensitive to the Deaf community.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker I understand what you're saying. Unless Deaf people are outraged, they're not going to change it. Nevertheless, it is a good show.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker As much as you may disagree, they did cast a Hard of Hearing actress for Daphne. Katie is, I don't know remember what the disease is called, but it doesn't have an effect on her hearing.

[TheConstantSeeker]

@saintsuniesha She's not a Deaf person... period. She's playing a culturally Deaf person. She's not. It's that simple. Again, it's about cultural/minority sensitivity.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker Shes not deaf.. She's Hoh, not everyone understand the culture of the Deaf community and I concur with what you are saying because people don't normally see the Deaf culture when you meet a Deaf person. It is only giving insight to what is happening the the life of a girl who is switched a birth who happens to be Deaf and how she is dealing with things. It SHOULD have more Deaf culture, you're right. However, it only shows she goes to a Deaf school and has Deaf friends.

[saintsuniesha]

@TheConstantSeeker That's all, I agree with what you're saying about having more Deaf culture in the show, I think it would add more depth!

[JJHandie2]

Oh my gosh! I didn't know she really wasn't death!

[biebsmurfy123]

@JJHandie2 well she kinda is DEAF NOT DEATH



[JJHandie2]

@biebsmurfy123 i meant death lol!