iahd handicapped disabled diving dive courses thailand

IAHD - Disabled Scuba Diver Training Facility

The IAHD (International Association of Handicapped Divers) diver training in Pattaya, Thailand is a very worth while program. Mermaids CDC Dive Career Development Center offers IAHD instructor training for our dive interns and any OWSI Instructors who can now complete scuba dive training for handicapped divers.

Scuba Diving is a pleasure for all; the able bodied and the disabled. Having a disability should not a diver from at least a great experience in the feeling of scuba diving in a confined swimming pool situation or even open ocean.

Klaas Brouver the President and an instructor trainer for IAHD visited Mermaids Dive Center Pattaya to teach the late 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. Mermaids have 2 IAHD Instructor Trainers.

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 a disabled diver.

The Professional Dive 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.
*	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.


Noriko (ISB - Impaired Sighted Buddy) - Andy (instructor - Sighted buddy)	John (ISB) - Liz (instructor SB - Sighted buddy)	Michael (simulated blind diver) - Doug (Instructor)

The lessons were conducted by Steve (and overlooked by Klaas). We had six diver 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.



The instructors formed a chain with the blind divers to assist with getting the dive 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.



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).



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 diver equipment was organized the divers were led into the pool (constant contact remember!) and over to the side where they sat with their IAHD instructors whilst the divemaster issued the readied equipment.



In the pool the divers were aided into their equipment and then a briefing from the 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).



The simulated blind diver training (just one section of a large course) was fantastic!!! - after the divers 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...





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.





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 International Association of Handicapped Divers 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:-).

To pave a dive career in handicapped scuba diver instruction - contact us

*New Diver Testimonials* - *Hey Peter, I was looking at some past emails and saw our correspondence from early November when I was booking to come to Mermaids and just wanted to say that things have been fantastic here, and what with being an AI now and into my OWSI portion of the IDC/IE I want to thank you for helping me get to Mermaid's and everything that was promised to me in the package has been included. It's been fantastic in Jomtien and I'm going to miss everyone at the dive shop when I go to Phi Phi for my OWSI job. I've got a job waiting at Island Divers, and my boyfriend Sam… Check the Diver Testimonials - here what the divers have to say ...

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Web Site updated - (09:32 Thai time) 12th May 2008

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