[lighthousemoon]

Any deaf BMW drivers on these pages? Am deaf myself and am waiting for my 2014 F30 328d M Sport to be produced and shipped - argh a looongg wait!

[SCHMOUPE]

Originally Posted by lighthousemoon

Any deaf BMW drivers on these pages? Am deaf myself and am waiting for my 2014 F30 328d M Sport to be produced and shipped - argh a looongg wait!

just curious, do you have any issues driving not being able to hear other cars around you? PS congrats on the diesel. Always wanted one!!!

[Cyberdemon]

My wife is an ASL teacher and I tend not to listen to her. Does that count? Lol.

[kmarei]

WHAT?

[Vic311]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

My wife is an ASL teacher and I tend not to listen to her. Does that count? Lol.

Originally Posted by kmarei

WHAT?

Not funny at all

[F1Venom]

Sorry to hear that mate. Congrats on your new F30 though! The wait is the worst, lol.

[Ehwnnc]

If you dont mind me asking, were you born deaf?

[lighthousemoon]

Deaf people are actually safer drivers than their hearing counterparts because they are much more aware of things happening around them while they're driving. Of course, there are always some stupid deaf and hearing drivers 😃

And yes born deaf - genetics. And I'm a fluent user of ASL 😃

[Ehwnnc]

Originally Posted by lighthousemoon

Deaf people are actually safer drivers than their hearing counterparts because they are much more aware of things happening around them while they're driving. Of course, there are always some stupid deaf and hearing drivers 😃

And yes born deaf - genetics. And I'm a fluent user of ASL 😃

I agree. I think it is very interesting. I used to hang out with a deaf person who drove a skyline and it was amazing how well he could read lips

[KingOfJericho]

My sister in-law is fluent in ASL and works at a school for the deaf in NYC. She keeps trying to teach my 8wk old daughter to sign. She's convinced that babies are actually signing when they're waving their arms around lol.

[lighthousemoon]

King of Jericho - I know about the deaf schools in NYC - done some work there in the past.

Anyway - sign language is always a great thing to teach babies - allows them to express themselves in simple terms (hungry, mommy, milk, etc) before they have the ability to use their voices to articulate themselves. My daughter started signing when she was about 7 months old, same with my two boys, but maybe a little later, like 9 months. And pretty much didn't have the terrible twos because they can tell us why theyre upset, sad, etc. instead of throwing a temper tantrum,

And always great having earlier language acquisition so I can teach them earlier that BMWs are the best cars out there!

[pgviper]

Congrats on the car. Sorry to hear about your disability but it is great to hear how you have turned it around and not let it hold you down. I have always been curious about sign language. You should make an "ask a deaf person" thread. I'm sure many people just like me have tons of questions about how life is. That is if you are comfortable with that.

Enjoy the car!!!

[upstatedoc]

Just curious, do any of your children have hearing deficits? Oh, and congrats on the bimmer.

[Cyberdemon]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

My sister in-law is fluent in ASL and works at a school for the deaf in NYC. She keeps trying to teach my 8wk old daughter to sign. She's convinced that babies are actually signing when they're waving their arms around lol.

You'd be surprised, my wife taught my nieces to sign and while they both started being vocal very early they were able to sign before they ever spoke.

It's especially effective on boys since boys often develop speech much later.

[Billup]

Originally Posted by Cyberdemon

You'd be surprised, my wife taught my nieces to sign and while they both started being vocal very early they were able to sign before they ever spoke.

It's especially effective on boys since boys often develop speech much later.

This will also relate into stronger cognitive development in children over those who don't learn to sign in the early stages of life. If you research Linda Acredolo, there was a study comparing children starting at 11 months old up until they were 3 years old, differentiating cognitive development. They were given an IQ test in 2nd grade (I believe) and those taught sign between that time scored 12 points higher than their counterparts.

It also helps build a stronger mentality on expressing their emotions and complying with an adults requests, which is why some state they are more fundamentally apt than children who don't learn sign.

[KingOfJericho]

What is the process of buying a car like when dealing with hearing sales people? Did you mainly deal via email?

I had a polyp removed from my vocal chord last year and could not talk for one week. I would mouth to people that I couldn't talk and they would give me a strange look and not interact with me at all. It was an eye-opening experience.

[upstatedoc]

Originally Posted by KingOfJericho

I had a polyp removed from my vocal chord last year .

Do you do a lot of singing or yelling?

[KingOfJericho]

Originally Posted by upstatedoc

Do you do a lot of singing or yelling?

Neither...

[lighthousemoon]

I started out via email with my CA at Thompsons BMW - David Dembrosky - very NICE guy - and he has been very patient and writing things down for us if we didn't understand. We did have a quick session with a different CA at the same dealership - she seemed jumpy and uncomfortable working with us. Probably had no idea how to work with deaf people. Only difference is that we can't hear - many other ways to communicate. Fortunately, I know the manager of the dealership (I've bought 2 BMWs from there in the past) and he referred me to David - so we're good!

As for my kids - I have an almost-10 year old girl, and two boys, aged 7 and 6. They're all hearing, but can sign very well - as American Sign Language is their first language - we all use it when they're home. When they're in regular public school, they use English and they are all proficient in English and can switch back and forth between the two languages without even thinking about it.

I happen to be a video solutions engineer for a videophone company where I get to work with many government agencies, even the Pentagon, the White House, the US Congress, as well as many business organizations, schools, hospitals, universities and non profits in helping them configure our videophone products for use with deaf employees working within those entities.

And wouldn't it be cool to have a videophone embedded into iDrive!?

[MediaArtist]

I could see how a deaf driver could be safer simply because they wouldn't be distracted by the radio, cell phone ringing, or other audible distractions.

[lighthousemoon]

Amen!

[CJ421]

Not deaf but I attended RIT in Rochester, NY and about 10% of the campus was deaf. They seemed to have zero issues doing things hearing people do. You're right that there are plenty of other ways to communicate.

I remember driving on the highway a few times and seeing two cars side by side with the passengers signing at each other. Definitely entertaining.