'Switched At Birth' Star Katie Leclerc's Advice For Learning ASL: 'Make Deaf Friends!'

Vanessa Marano‘s advice for learning ASL is to practice — which is a great tip.

Katie Leclerc just wants you to make friends — lots and lots and lots of deaf friends.

“I didn’t become really fluent until I immersed myself in the culture as well as forced myself to either sink or swim,” the Switched at Birth actress told JJJ.

If you didn’t know, Katie has a condition called M�ni�re’s disease, which causes intermittent hearing loss, along with vertigo.

She only discovered she had hearing issues around 2005, when she volunteered to be filmed taking a hearing test for a video about hearing loss.

“One of my first times hanging out with a deaf person I made him repeat his question 12 times,” she adds. “It was embarrassing, but he’s still my friend, and we still laugh about it today!”

So, what’s actually Katie‘s favorite sign? It’s mosquito!

“You make a drill motion near your nose,” she says of how to sign the word. “Other than that, I love a good argument. When Daphne would have ASL fights, I would get so witty!”

Switched at Birth‘s series finale airs TONIGHT @ 9PM ET/PT on Freeform.