Switched at Birth Toby and Lily Baby Switched at Birth Toby and Lily Baby Episode

Gavin Bell in the season finale of Switched at Birth, courtesy of ABC Family/Disney.

Season 4 of Switched at Birth is coming to an stop on Mon nighttime, wrapping upwardly some plots and providing an emotional capstone to the flavor with a osculation, a departure, a new baby, and a tease for Season 5, which was just announced. My attention has been entirely focused on that baby and his parents. A few months ago, Lily, the babe'southward mother, revealed that the fetus had been diagnosed with Downwardly syndrome. As a disability-rights journalist and father of a male child with Downward syndrome, I've been hooked.

Switched at Nascence is a Peabody Award-winning family drama that airs on ABC Family (soon to exist rebranded as Freeform). The evidence follows the lives of two families whose daughters—Daphne Vasquez and Bay Kennish—were switched at birth in the infirmary. As teenagers, the switch is uncovered, the families meet, and the stories unfold. Daphne is deaf, so questions of inability have always been at the center of the prove. Although the plotlines are often melodramatic, the testify possesses uncommon depths thanks to its consistent focus on divergence and identity. In a recent article on the history of ABC Family, Jacqui Smooth credited Switched at Birth as the beginning bear witness to make the channel'due south slogan, "'A New Kind of Family' … hateful what it implies today: families that correspond the full spectrum of diverse identities, less superficially wholesome and more meaningfully honest."

I interviewed show creator Lizzy Weiss for The Mary Sue a few weeks ago while the show was focusing on whether Lily would choose to accept an ballgame. Lily is a major supporting character, a hearing adult female who is fluent in both British and American Sign Language. She became romantically involved with Toby, the oldest child in the key Kennish family unit, who for years has been mannerly and talented, only immature; conceiving a child has inverse him for the better. In the episode when Lily and Toby decide to keep the child (and try to be a couple once more), Bay takes Toby to visit a school for children with disabilities. In that scene, and those that followed, ii things have been consistent: Showtime, the show doesn't try to hibernate the challenges that Down's syndrome can bring, but ever demonstrates that shared humanity and love trumps superficial differences. Second, I get weepy.

Ane recent scene in particular stands out. Lily is in a doctor's waiting room and sees some other mother and child. The mother happily chats about how her girl is such a great reader, then reveals that she has an older girl, who is a fantastic athlete. The female parent'southward monologue is, in many ways, nigh recognizing sameness in your children, something Lily fears she'll never experience. I've lived this many times, most recently standing in a luxury flat of a famous professor equally he and his friends seemingly competed in "child accomplishment tennis," lobbing achievements of their kids back and along every bit I quietly poured myself some other potable.

In the resolution, Lily finds the forcefulness to limited her fears to Toby, talking about her deprival, and together, they move forward towards acceptance and understanding. In the hours subsequently my son was built-in and diagnosed, I think holding my married woman and sobbing that it wasn't fair. Then, like this fictional couple, we began the journeying from being overwhelmed by the differences betwixt the states and our child towards the recognition of all we share. I've never seen that particular emotional drama, one so vibrant in my memory, play out before on TV.

And now, as revealed in the promo for the finale, the babe is coming!

I spoke to Lizzy Weiss well-nigh the Downwardly-syndrome plotlines in the time since Lily and Toby decided to take the baby.

David Perry: Manifestly the first outcome afterwards Lily received her diagnosis was whether she would have an ballgame. Once Lily decided to continue the child, with Toby's support, what were the side by side themes for the remaining episodes of the flavour?

Lizzy Weiss: Later Toby & Lily's decision, the next piece was to have the family unit, specially John and Bay, accept their determination and express support. The socks were meant to be a surprising and emotional mode to take the family tell him that they were all in to assist raise this baby.

The next really important story—one of my favorites—was to show lingering doubts on Lily'south part. I really wanted to be honest to the idea that merely because yous make the determination to keep the baby, that doesn't mean the fears and insecurities are gone. I wanted to take Lily express sadness at what she wasn't going to have, a feeling of loss for what she expected parenthood to be… all of those sentiments that are so beautifully articulated in 'Welcome to Holland,' and to evidence her shame at having those thoughts, so to have someone say 1. It'southward okay to feel that way. It doesn't make you lot a monster. This is all actually new and scary and you lot're immune those feelings. 2. You might be surprised at all of the things that your kid can practise. And three. This is going to be your kid. And the Down syndrome office will come after the 'this is my kid' office.

The baby shower was just a natural outgrowth of story for us…What would happen next? The new mother would probably be thrown a shower. Okay, how would a shower for a babe with Down syndrome be unlike? Well, it probably shouldn't be whatever different but would some guests feel anxious or lamentable or precious and say inappropriate things? Probably. Okay, who would exist most probable to say something completely inappropriate? Probably a woman of science. And so we realized we got to engage in a pretty interesting contend most eugenics and ask questions like 'Practice we want to eradicate departure? Why? Is divergence necessarily a bad thing? Practise we have to attach to the notion that faster/stronger/smarter is better?' And that'south a pretty radical question that I'grand proud to say I've never seen raised on whatsoever other show.

David Perry: I was struck in the baby shower scene how Kathryn Kennish has get such an articulate and effective advocate on disability issues, then much then that I went back and re-watched flavour 1 episode 1 and her reaction to Daphne'south deafness. Can y'all talk a little scrap near her development as a grapheme over these seasons? Has John grown equally much?

That'southward such a delightful insight that yous made and frankly, existence inside the story all these years, I hadn't fifty-fifty actually made that connectedness. Lea probably has. But it's truthful! She started off in the pilot completely freaked out by Daphne's deafness, only part of that was simply because she couldn't communicate with her daughter hands, and considering she just hadn't been around anyone (culturally) deaf before. Information technology felt foreign and scary. And all these episodes later, she's just — educated. That'due south all yous really demand. Education and an emotional tie to someone you love. Like to what we've seen in this state with gay spousal relationship: the best way to change someone'due south mind is to know and love someone close to you who upends any stereotypes you had in the past and turns you into a passionate advocate for their rights.

As for John, he's rough around the edges but he'due south actually a very loving guy on the inside, and an amazing dad. And I call up he will defend his grandchild as staunchly as his married woman, once he meets him.

David Perry: How does a show cast an infant with Down's syndrome, assuming that was a real baby?

Lizzy Weiss: Of class that was a existent baby! And of course we bandage a baby with Down syndrome! That's how we coil onSwitched at Birth.It never crossed our heed to shoot that scene whatever other way. And the answer to 'how?' is just a function of our amazing production. Our UPM Mary Church got really involved in this story, information technology touched her, and she spent her weekends meeting families and going on that socks photo shoot. She and our line producer Shawn Wilt (who are responsible for these nuts and bolts of our product) plant a range of newborns and we chose Gavin Bell, from Apple Valley. He was about 3 months former when nosotros shot the episode and he was paid role player calibration! In that location is a talent agent who handles (I believe near exclusively) actors with Down syndrome, so there is a arrangement out at that place to find whomever yous need. Gavin behaved utterly perfectly on the day and we all fell in love with him.

David Perry: What are some of the other inability-related stories you might like to tell in time to come seasons? Can you give u.s.a. any hints about what's coming next?

Lizzy Weiss: We were but handed a Season 5, which I'm thrilled about, and so I'm excited to dive dorsum into stories that bargain with disability. I don't know nevertheless what the verbal arenas will be; my squad and I will just encounter where the stories and the characters accept us. But I do anticipate meeting the new baby as a petty guy and seeing him go part of this amazingly various and loving family.

Switched at Birth airs Mondays on ABC Family unit at 8 Eastern/7 Fundamental.

David M. Perry is a freelance journalist. Find his work at thismess.cyberspace. Follow him on Twitter (@Lollardfish).

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Source: https://www.themarysue.com/switched-at-birth-finale/

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