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The availability of roles for deaf actors has always been very limited. After 'Switched at Birth' began including deaf actors, a ripple effect has definitely been created in the industry. 'Switched at Birth' has made an impact for the better.

I can see that 'Switched at Birth' is attracting audiences because of the diversity and the American Sign Language as well. American Sign Language is such a beautiful language, and people want more of that.

The deaf community is nearly never portrayed accurately on television/film because most writers never took the time to immerse themselves in the deaf culture before portraying it on television. They also never got to know their deaf actors.

Often in the past, when we have had a deaf person in the spotlight, we have been portrayed badly. It was up to me to change that.

We have our own culture, our own community. A lot of people don't realize that. They just assume that deaf people are very unfortunate, very disabled, but no.

I think the biggest misconception is that people think deaf people are not able to do things.

There is no relation to sound for deaf people. It is a totally different mental process.

There are so many deaf kids out there being deprived of their own language.

I started to realize that there are a lot of people who are unaware of deaf culture, and I've been given a great platform to reframe the deaf community.

If I'd been born into a hearing family and went to a public school, I would have probably felt much more isolated, and being deaf would have become my identity.