SANTA CLARITA -- For years, Marlee Matlin was the lone spokesperson for how the deaf can lead normal lives -- even as actors. She's getting some help now from the ABC Family series "Switched at Birth."

The show tells the story of two teen girls -- one deaf (Katie Leclerc), the other fully hearing (Vanessa Marano) -- who learn they have been raised by the wrong parents.

Tonight's episode throws a major spotlight on American Sign Language (ASL), as the students at Carlton School for the Deaf protest to keep their school open. The entire episode will be presented using only ASL.

Weeks before the episode was filmed, Leclerc knew it would take a lot of work. But it was worth the payoff. She hopes viewers will realize how often a deaf person gets thought of differently because they can't hear.

"I want people to see there's nothing different between a deaf person and a hearing person. If you've never met a deaf person, it's completely natural to be a little bit afraid of something that's not your world. You don't want to offend someone. Say the wrong thing. This show can go into a hearing audience living room and say 'it's OK.' No one's going to be mad at you because you can't sign," says Leclerc.

Matlin, who plays one of the instructors at the high school, says what is so important about this series is that it just doesn't have deaf characters but has deaf story lines.

"It looks at the culture. It looks at the language. It's a fascinating culture you've never seen on television," Matlin says through an ASL interpreter.

The Oscar-winning actress is proud to be part of a TV show that's bringing so much attention to the deaf world. And, after spending so many years being the focus for the deaf, she's happy a new generation of deaf actors are coming along.

"I am the best-known deaf person in the world, which is fine. But I don't want to be the only one. Acting is for everybody. Why not? It's nice to be able to work with deaf actors. I love working with every single actor, but when it comes to working with one of the deaf actors, it's so natural for me," Matlin says. "It's our natural language. It's our natural culture. it's where we come from."

The plot for tonight's episode was inspired by the "Deaf President Now" protests that took place at Gallaudet University in 1988.

The university, started in Washington, D.C., by Congress in 1864 to serve the deaf, always had been led by a hearing president. When it was announced the school's seventh president would again be a hearing person, students protested.

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SHOW INFO

"Switched at Birth," 8 p.m. Monday, ABC Family.