Handicapped Scuba Association Instructor Training class

Recently, several members of Dive Operations and the Dive Immersion Program went through the Instructor certification class for the Handicapped Scuba Association (HSA). This class introduced existing Dive Masters and Instructors to the skills and challenges required to certify people with disabilities as Open Water Scuba divers. The Dive Immersion Program has several groups of guests with paraplegia, quadriplegia, and visual impairments that dive with us on a regular basis so it is imperative that the staff be prepared to accommodate these guests and make their dives enjoyable.

Taught by Susan Oglesby, Asst. Manager of the Dive Immersion Program, Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist and HSA Instructor Trainer, the class had a two-fold purpose. First, it added another level of Instructor or Dive Master certification to those who were already rated as Instructors or Dive Masters and second, it helped prepare us for diving with guests who have disabilities. The class consisted of 10 hours of lecture, 5 hours of confined water (i.e. pool) training, and 4 hours of open water training. The open water section was done in the Ocean Voyager exhibit at the aquarium.

The lecture segment introduced the divers to various types of disabilities such as spinal chord injuries, brain injuries, cognitive disabilities, Cerebral Palsy, amputations, hearing and vision impairments, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Muscular Dystrophy (MD). Each has its own unique challenges related to diving but the ones concentrated on were blindness and spinal chord injuries. The lectures also taught how such disabilities affect not only the person’s ability to dive but also how they affect everyday living. The divers learned how spinal chord injuries can affect not only the limbs and extremities but also more internal muscles and organs. There are quite a few things that must be taken into consideration for para- and quadriplegic divers. Things such as catheters and “programs” (the bowel movement process), severely limited abdominal muscle control and Hyperreflexia (high blood pressure resulting from an abnormal stimuli).
One of the more fascinating parts of the lecture dealt with blind divers and how they perceive and communicate via touch and hearing. Because the non-visual senses of a blind person are typically heightened, most blind divers can hear and sense things in the water that sighted divers can’t. They also communicate via hand signals and touching. To simulate what it is like to dive blind, the class was divided into buddy teams. One member of each team was “blind” and wore a blacked-out mask throughout the entire process of gearing up, entering the water, diving, and exiting the water.

Devin Waddell, one of the DIP Dive Masters, sets up his gear as a blind diver 

Once geared up, the “blind” diver was assisted to the edge of the water by their buddy and then did a giant stride entry. In the water, several skills were performed such as hovering and regulator retrieval…all skills needed for any diver getting Open Water certified. The guiding diver then led their blind buddy on a short tour around the deep end of the diving well where the divers were doing the confined water training, using hand gestures to indicate “go forward”, “stop”, “ascend”, “descend”, etc…

Windsor Gray leads Stacey Schneider to the edge of the pool in preparation for entry 

After the blind diving simulation, the Instructors and Dive Masters practiced working with a paraplegic diver. For this exercise, one member simulated having no use of their legs so their feet were bound. The other team member was responsible for helping gear up their buddy and assisting them once they entered the water. Paraplegic divers still have use of their arms, which means they can be more independent in the water. Once in the water, several basic skills were practiced as the paraplegic diver then followed his or her buddy around the pool. They learned quickly how much divers rely on their legs in the water as it took a lot of effort to keep up when all you can do is pull yourself along with your arms.

Drew Commins helps stabilize his "paraplegic" diving buddy Susan Street 

When both buddies had taken turns being “disabled”, the class was divided into several teams of 3 or 4 members each for simulating diving as a quadriplegic. One team member was told they had no use of his or her arms or legs and could only move their head and speak. They also had to pretend they had no abdominal muscle control and had to be supported on the edge of the pool.

Quadriplegic divers may require 2 buddies. One should be certified as a Rescue diver or better and the other can be an Open Water diver and is there to be the primary buddy’s buddy. The quad in the exercise needed assistance with every aspect of diving which required the primary buddy be Rescue trained to handle any emergency that might arise. The quad diver’s primary buddy must perform even the most basic skills for them such as mask clearing and equalizing ear pressure.

Several other skills were covered, such as how to control a low functioning quad diver’s buoyancy. It proved to be tricky but if the primary buddy wrapped themselves around the diver to maintain a vertical orientation in the water, then using the quad diver’s BC for control, buoyancy could be maintained with ease.

For the final day of class, all previous skills and simulations were done in the shallow end of the Ocean Voyager exhibit. This added the complications of animals swimming and how to avoid colliding with them. It also made the blind simulation that much more fascinating. Buddys guided each other around, stopping at several places to let the “blind” diver touch parts of the exhibit and indicate when various animals would approach, using tactile signals to represent Whale Sharks, Manta Rays, and Hammerhead sharks.

Simulating being a diver with quadriplegia, Devin Waddell is supported by his primary buddy, Nonalee Davis while secondary buddy Windsor Gray, stays with him at the surface.

During the check-out dive, several friends of Susan Oglesby and HSA certified divers were on hand to watch and offer advice. They gave the participants valuable insight on how it is to dive with disabilities and tips on working with disabled divers.

Wayne Benton, Janet Leavell, and Barry Leavell look on as members of Dive Ops and the Dive Immersion Program complete their HSA Instructor Training checkout dives.

Overall, the class was excellent, giving all the participants a new set of skills that we will be able to use both in our jobs as Dive Masters in the Dive Immersion Program and as Instructors in our professional diving career. If you are interested in becoming a certified HSA instructor, contact the HSA to find a training class near you.