Adaptive Scuba

[BottomDweller]

I participated in some training last night for an adaptive scuba program my dive shop will be running. Adaptive scuba is where you teach disabled people to dive. Wow. I have now been a "paralyzed diver" from the chest down, and I've been a "blind" diver. I've assembled my scuba unit with one hand while in a wheelchair and again while blind. Putting on a wetsuit and boots with one hand when you can't stand up because you have no feeling or strength below your chest is interesting. I've dived with my legs and feet taped together and no fins (you don't need fins when your legs don't work). I've helped my fellow "disabled" divers in the water, both at the surface and at depth. And I learned how to swim for a paralyzed diver, making sure he's neutral, equalized, and comfortable.

If any of you ever have the opportunity to experience this training (perhaps some of you already have?), I highly recommend it. It makes you appreciate what most of us take for granted.

[theskull]

Very interesting. I have assisted disabled divers, but have not yet tried being one. I'll bet it is eye-opening.

theskull

[nauifins73]

We have an Adaptive instructor at our shop. I haven't had a chance to assist him but after reading this I'm going to see when I can join him.

[BottomDweller]

We have an Adaptive instructor at our shop. I haven't had a chance to assist him but after reading this I'm going to see when I can join him.

Cool! We have two events coming up that our shop is hosting; both events are to introduce disabled folks to diving. If any of you know someone who's disabled and would like to get involved, PM me and I'll give you the contact numbers for the shop. The events are Sunday, September 21st and Sunday, September 28th in Lincoln, Nebraska.

The disabilities can include wheelchair-bound, blind, deaf, missing a limb or limbs, quadraplegic, paraplegic, etc. They need to be able to blow through their nose to equalize, but an able-bodied diver with them can plug their nose for them while they do it if they can't use their arms - that's the kind of thing to take into consideration. Some may have a catheter and bag, and you have to make sure their hose doesn't get kinked. You have to be very careful if you pick up their foot to, say, take off their neoprene boot because if you drop their foot, they could be injured or scraped and not know it, get a staph infection, and be in real trouble. It's intensive, but also super rewarding.

[do it easy]

I'm an HSA buddy and have been on a few handicapped dive trips to the FL Keys and participated in many local discover scuba events for handicapped divers. I can promise you that you will get so much more out of it than what you put into it.

Besides being rewarding, it will also improve your dive skills- task loading, situational awareness, buoyancy control, team skills, etc. I tell people that it is shallow water technical diving.

The handicapped divers that I have worked with have such a strong desire to be in the water. As students and divers, they really give 110%. This is particularly important for dive pros who get burnt out on lazy students.

I've dove with divers who had paraplegia, quadriplegia, autism, CP, blindness, traumatic brain injuries, cognitive disabilities, amputations, and polio. The water is an equalizer that removes many of their limitations.

I would recommend handicapped diving to any diver. There are lots of ways to help out- even staying on the boat or poolside. It will challenge you as a diver, but it is well worth the effort.

[skdvr]

That is awesome... I was having second thoughts about trying to go down the professional ave. but I think I may re-consider...

Very interesting...

Phil

[theskull]

That is awesome... I was having second thoughts about trying to go down the professional ave. but I think I may re-consider...

Very interesting...

Phil

Go for it, Phil. There are many cool things you can do as a dive professional that the other divers rarely even hear about.

theskull

[BottomDweller]

I was in the dive shop on Monday when two 20-somethings came in to check out our upcoming adaptive scuba "try scuba" event. They're both wheelchair-bound, have zero use of their legs and lower torsos, and limited use of their arms and hands. The guy can use his biceps to raise his arms, but he has no triceps, so to put his arms down he just lets them fall.

Anyway, the shop owner talked to them for awhile, and then they signed up for the event. We set up a scuba unit for them so they could see a BC and what will hold them up in the water, and we talked to them about how an able-bodied diver will swim for them, etc.

I was excited before for our event, but now I'm even more so, having met two of the participants. I'm a bit nervous, too. This will be a challenge, but it should be very, very rewarding, too. I can't wait!

[do it easy]

Congrats- it sounds like you have the bug.

When you get to the pool, take your time and make sure everyone is on the same page. You don't have to teach them everything in 20 minutes. If these two swim a lap underwater, it's a big deal and they'll be back.

[BottomDweller]

Congrats- it sounds like you have the bug.

When you get to the pool, take your time and make sure everyone is on the same page. You don't have to teach them everything in 20 minutes. If these two swim a lap underwater, it's a big deal and they'll be back.

Thanks! Our instructor certifier is doing another training session with us on Tuesday evening to make sure we've got our roles down and we know exactly how it needs to work.

He told us about a quadraplegic in his instructor class - the class where he was certified to teach adaptive scuba. The guy figured out how to plug his nose to equalize by using the backs of his index finger knuckles. He couldn't use his hands for anything, but when he managed to plug his own nose and equalize using both hands' knuckles, he was pumped!

This is going to be cool, folks!

[BottomDweller]

Congrats- it sounds like you have the bug.

When you get to the pool, take your time and make sure everyone is on the same page. You don't have to teach them everything in 20 minutes. If these two swim a lap underwater, it's a big deal and they'll be back.

Good point. We had another training session last night and one thing our instructor stressed was going slowly. When I was the one swimming behind the "disabled" diver holding her tank and providing propulsion, he had to tell me to slow down. Even though it felt like we were barely moving, it's a different feeling for the person you're swimming for! I discovered that when we switched roles and I got to be the "disabled" person.

We also worked on getting the person from their chair into the water and from the water into their chair. Then there was holding their mask for them so they could exhale through their nose and clear it. At one point, again when I was on tank holding and propulsion duty, our instructor signaled to our "disabled" person to "lose" her reg from her mouth, and the two of us escorting her had to handle that situation appropriately and quickly.

It's going to be quite an experience when we do this for real in just a few weeks.

[BottomDweller]

In case anyone's interested, here are a few pics from today's event. We had 9 disabled individuals, ranging from age 8 to upper-40-something. There was a 15-year-old guy who was deaf and blind, two quadriplegics, one athletic guy with two teenage sons who happens to be missing a right leg, a young girl with cerebral palsy, and others.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/canoeluv/DSC_0005-2.jpg
This is the quadriplegic 20-something girl when we got her in the water. The guy in the white shirt is handing her scuba unit to our instructor.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/canoeluv/DSC_0003-1.jpg
Another DiveCon and I are readying the boots we put on the feet of the two in the wheelchairs.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/canoeluv/DSC_0015-3.jpg
Here we're gearing up the young girl with cerebral palsey while her mom (the one not wearing a wetsuit) helps her.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/canoeluv/DSC_0017-1.jpg
When the DiveCon holding the girl lowered her so her face was in the water, I went under with her so she could see my eyes. Once she got comfortable, and I waved at her underwater, she was able to wave back a little bit with her left hand! Then she'd grin, which would cause her to lose her regulator. We had to hold it in for awhile until she figured out that she could keep it in her mouth on her own.

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc53/canoeluv/DSC_0135.jpg
This is the father of the two teenage sons. His wife was there, too (she's the one on the right in the towel). This guy was swimming so fast nobody could keep up with him! He's really athletic and plays tennis and swims to stay in shape. He had a fantastic time and is totally ready to get certified.

[nauifins73]

Great photos - thanks for sharing