Bay Kennish (Vanessa Marano) never felt right with her rich conservative parents. Her mother Kathryn (Lea Thompson) doesn't get her artistic side. Her father John (D.W. Moffett) is a former Royals pitcher and owns several car washes. Her brother Toby (Lucas Grabeel) is the trouble-making musician. She suggests a DNA test which shocks the family. They discover that Bay and another baby was switched at birth. The other girl, Daphne Vasquez (Katie Leclerc), is deaf. She lives in a rough neighborhood with her mother Regina Vasquez (Constance Marie) and grandmother. She goes to a deaf school with her best friend Emmett Bledsoe (Sean Berdy) whose mother is Melody (Marlee Matlin). Regina is about to move out of town when everybody agrees to have the Vasquez move into the Kennish guest house.It's soapy teen family drama. By its nature, it tackles a lot of social issues especially pertaining to the deaf. The things that sold me right from the start are the actors and the usual deaf angle. It's rare to have a show based on deaf characters and that's very intriguing. It also doesn't hurt to have great actors. The younger side of the cast is filled with likable kids. The deaf community is well represented. Everybody is compelling. This is also a story about the parents trying to come to terms with their lost past and their newfound children. The three lead adults are all top level actors who give charismatic emotional performances. The show does get too soapy at times with a lot of social issues. It still manages to stay compelling for its full run.

Though I am a teenager, rarely do I ever watch ABC Family's or "Freeforms" cheesy, teenage romance, drama. Trying to figure out what was so great about Pretty Little Liars or The Secret Life of an American Teenager, I disregarded the show for quite a while. I didn't really find anything wholesome about either show and found them to both be completely annoying. I couldn't even get past the first episode of Pretty Little Liars. I gave The Secret Life of an American Teenager some time but still couldn't find out what was so great about the show. A friend recommended the show to me. But, she also was the main person who pushed me to watch PLL's and TSLOAT, so, of course, I was a little skeptical. I was even more skeptical when I'd found out that the show was on ABC family. I watched the first episode of Switched At Birth and immediately fell in love. Every episode is of course filled with family drama, but they all overcome it in the end. The show proves that two people from completely different backgrounds and families can come together as one. The show is amazingly and beautifully written. One of the stars of the show is deaf, which definitely adds a different twist to the show and it's not just her there are plenty of deaf people who star on the show. The show has taught me much as a person. I've even taken up learning sign language and can confidently say that I know the full alphabet. I've also fallen in love with art, just like Bay loves her art in the show. The show is completely wholesome and has a wonderful message in each episode. I would definitely recommend this show to teenagers who love a little drama but want something different and wholesome.

I had high hopes for this show when it first started. For the first couple of seasons it was interesting and I thought they handled the deaf thing very well. It didn't feel preachy and was a natural part of the show. I thought it was a nice touch that when the deaf people were "talking", most of the background sounds were muted (and the background music was stopped). It really helped to see the scene from the "deaf" perspective.The high hopes, however, have been pretty much trashed. The characters have become stereotypes. Kathryn Kennish is either whining/pouting or cajoling ("c'mon. It'll be fun"). Everyone is quick to condemn and jumps immediately to indignation mode at the slightest provocation. As soon as someone disagrees with a character's position it becomes "why are you taking his/her side?????". The writers have gotten lazy to the point where every episode seems to have the same plot:Bay/Daphne/Toby/Reginaa) discovers a secret about someone b) is told something about someone ("but you can't tell anyone") c) blabs a secret after being told not to tell d) makes a complete idiotic or out-of-character decisionBay/Daphne/Toby/Reginaapologizes with the phrase "I should have told you".That last one can appear multiple times in an episode.The coincidences pile up one on top of another to the point that credulity is stretched beyond all human capacity.And above all, no one ever seems to learn anything or experience any personal growth. Daphne, especially is guilty of this. She has made so many bad decisions and has shown such bad judgment that there is no way she should ever become a doctor. I had also hoped that Katie Leclerc would show some growth as an actor, however, she seems to have only four facial expressions in her repertoire and none are very convincing.

This is a magnificent glimpse into a world the "normal" never see. There are wonderful aspects of this program which would require pages to cover, but... The unfortunate and over and over again repeated message passed on by the show justifies a retitling to "Stupid at Birth," I'm working my way through the forth season, and I've been watching one "I'm a complete imbecile" episode after another... Each time a character shows some sign of mature intelligence, they immediately do something so completely absurd that the whole show loses it's credibility. Nevertheless, it is marvelously entertaining, educational and reveals a new world (the handicapped) which is complete with its own prejudices, just as is every branch of humanity. It is marvelous, I only wish the stupidity level could be moderated. There is a self-centered focus which is very real since the only true reality for any of us is our own perception, however in real life it is this same self-centered focus which leads to the intelligent application of strategy which brings us nearer our goals. Here we have relationships forged in magnificence then urinated upon by absolute irrational stupidity. While I am not deaf, I am handicapped and although I really do like this series, I would be offended were those who share the handicap I live with, to be depicted as such self-centered, absurd fools as those we see in "Switched at Birth."