Go beyond voice!

There was a lost opportunity in the Michael Bay Transformers movies. Not long after we meet Bumblebee we discover that he is unable to talk and is forced to use his radio to communicate with the world. This would have been an excellent opportunity to feature the use of sign language. It was revealed that the Autobots learned human language via the internet, so why wouldn't Bumblebee have sought out a way to communicate? I believe in Transformers lore that Bumblebee did know sign language. 

Hollywood is currently hyper focused on making a wider audience feel included, so how did they miss this opportunity? In the 1950's version of Zorro, Bernardo communicated with Don Diego via a form of sign language. Later the TV series Ironside featured a wheelchair bound detective. Not too long ago I read a fantasy novel where human and elven races communicated with each other via sign language due to language complexity. As a story teller, look beyond voice and don't be afraid to reach beyond what is expected.