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IAHD - Mermaid's Handicapped
Scuba Diver Training Facility
 IAHD
(International Association of Handicapped Divers) training in Pattaya, Thailand.
Mermaid's offers instructor training for our dive interns and any OWSI
Instructors who can now complete scuba diving training for handicapped divers.
Scuba Diving is a pleasure for all; the able
bodied and the disabled. Having a disability should not be a reason for the
diver to at least experience the feeling of diving in a confined swimming pool
situation.
Klaas Brouver the President and an instructor
trainer for IAHD came to
Mermaid's to teach our resident PADI Course Director and MD, Stephen
Blumenthal how to not only conduct disabled diver programs for the disabled
but also "train instructors" to conduct disabled diver
training too. This can now be offered within the internships as a very specialized
program.
The
IAHD Disabled / Handicapped diver programs can be seen as an overview here
The disabled scuba diver training program that Klaas
offered was very professional, extremely interesting and really an eye opener to
the needs, requirements and overall considerations for teaching the handicapped.
The
Professional Training covered.
- Learning how to relate to some of the psychological aspects of
someone who has become physically disabled.
- Learning about a variety of physical disabilities and how they
relate to scuba diving.
- Through simulations and training workshops in the swimming pool and Open
Water, you learn how to overcome some of the problems you may encounter when
training physically disabled divers.
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Training in a variety of methods for assisting those with
sight impairment, hearing impairment, spinal injuries, amputations,
etc.
- Training in how to adapt and modify normal diving equipment
to the needs of the disabled diver.
- Learning how to become more aware of your disabled students,
their needs, their attitudes, etc.
- Learning how to develop a foresight in logistics awareness and
considerations.
The handicapped training that I was able to
photograph was that of the instructor course -
Klaas covered all topics in classroom academics and then I managed to capture some of the
practical applications and skill training on camera.
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| Noriko (ISB - Impaired
Sighted Buddy) - Andy (instructor - Sighted buddy) |
John (ISB) - Liz
(instructor SB - Sighted buddy) |
Michael (simulated blind
diver) - Doug (Instructor) |
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| The lessons
were conducted by Steve (and overlooked by Klaas). We had six students in
a great exercise. 3 of the guys were asked to wear "blacked out
masks" which was a good simulation for being blind. The other three
had to play the role of the instructor (SB - Sighted buddy). The "instructors" had to
lead the blind divers (ISB - Impaired Sighted Buddy) out of the dive shop keeping "constant
contact" explaining all that they were doing with each step. |
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instructors formed a chain with the blind divers to assist with getting
the equipment into and out of the taxi to the dive training swimming pool. The blind divers were
assisting all of the way as part of the overall experience - they should
be involved as much as possible. |
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| The blind
divers were sat down whilst the equipment was brought to them. Constant contact
was again enforced. It really brought the experience home to me when in
the last picture Michael (the blind diver) heard a large splash from the
pool and he jumped and asked Doug what it was - "were there other
swimmers / divers?" - Doug the instructor explained all - it really
made a realization that these guys could see nothing at all and their
perception of everything was very different. Although this experience
will NEVER allow us to empathize totally with a visually impaired person
it certainly really made us all much more sensitive to their awareness and
heightened other senses (i.e. hearing and feeling). |
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| The divers
were assisted to set up their equipment as much as they needed (it was
emphasized to let the disabled divers do as much as they were able to do
personally without assistance). Once the equipment was organized the
divers were led into the pool (constant contact remember!) and over to the
side where they sat with their instructors whilst the divemaster issued
the readied equipment. |
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| In the pool
the divers were aided into their equipment and then a briefing from the
dive instructors as to the signals for the diving experience. All dive signals
(surface and underwater communications) start
with a gentle "squeeze" of the right hand (of the diver). A finger placed to
the back of the hand signals - descent where as a finger to the palm of
the hand suggests an ascent is appropriate. The "OK" sign is a gentle
squeeze to the bicep. Here in the center photo you can see Liz place her
finger on the back of John's hand signaling descent and in the following
photo the divers going under. (Bear in mind that all of the divers had
been briefed on the equipment and experienced breathing under water with
their faces in the pool already etc). |
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| The simulated
blind diver training (just
one section of a large course) was fantastic!!! - after the guys came to the
surface the masks were removed VERY slowly (they had been on for almost 2
hours), the guys were then all debriefed and asked of their experiences.
Now please remember that what you have seen is instructors being taught to
instruct the program. It was fantastic...but there is so much more to the
program... |
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| Following the
"Blind training", Steve and Klaas went on to continue to
demonstrate different methods and procedures for egression (getting out)
of a handicapped diver form the pool - many of the procedures applied to
the use of a dive boat also. this was very interesting and many of the
procedures can be applied to the PADI rescue diver course also. The
procedures applied to handicapped divers with many differing disabilities. |
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| After further classroom
academics it was time to make the practical application scenario of
assisting a paraplegic in to diving. Again this was extremely interesting
and highlighted MANY different considerations for sensitivity, access,
equipment considerations etc. Liz and Michael played the handicapped
divers using chairs to simulate wheel chairs. The exercise was to prepare
the equipment, access the dive site (the beach), make an entry and gear
up. This again was superb. |
The IAHD
program is an extremely interesting program indeed. It's intentions are to be
able to allow us to be more sensitive to those less able bodied and allow them
to enjoy the diving that we take for granted. You will see links to the IAHD
web site here and please feel free to contact them for more details...
Now that Mermaid's CDC Pattaya, Thailand is
fully certified to train instructors in the handicapped divers course - this can
be offered as an additional string to an instructors bow. This allows the dive
instructor to be able to offer the wonderful realm of scuba diving to a wider customer
base and hence make you more employable within the scuba diving industry (and
share the enjoyment with more:-).
Become a handicapped scuba
diver instructor - contact us.
The
IAHD Disabled / Handicapped diver programs can be seen as an overview here
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