snowcat
Guest
I am looking for any SCUBA associations, clubs, or information that focuses on deaf divers. Any information out there would be appreciated. The Handicapped SCUBA Association and Dive Heart are great organizations, but I wonder if there are any others that have an emphasis on divers who are deaf.
My quick searches through the internet and the threads on Scubaboard turned up only a few local clubs, mostly in other countries. I will continue searching, but thought Scubaboard would be the perfect place to ask, particularly since there are threads from divers who are deaf.
My reason for asking is I am a hearing SSI Dive Control Specialist (Assistant Instructor/Divemaster) wanting to get involved with teaching or diving with deaf SCUBA students and deaf certified divers. I have several deaf friends who introduced me to the deaf community and ASL (American Sign Language). My interaction with them has been so great that I have pursued becoming fluent with ASL and getting more involved in the deaf community. (Though I am not fluent, yet, and still have much to learn about their culture.) Unfortunately, my deaf friends are not divers, so they could not offer any information.
SCUBA seems like the perfect sport for divers who are deaf because being deaf is not a handicap underwater. On the contrary, it is now they who can communicate freely and us hearing divers who are handicapped by the regulator stuck in our mouths and the roar of bubbles in our ears.
Anyway, please help.
My quick searches through the internet and the threads on Scubaboard turned up only a few local clubs, mostly in other countries. I will continue searching, but thought Scubaboard would be the perfect place to ask, particularly since there are threads from divers who are deaf.
My reason for asking is I am a hearing SSI Dive Control Specialist (Assistant Instructor/Divemaster) wanting to get involved with teaching or diving with deaf SCUBA students and deaf certified divers. I have several deaf friends who introduced me to the deaf community and ASL (American Sign Language). My interaction with them has been so great that I have pursued becoming fluent with ASL and getting more involved in the deaf community. (Though I am not fluent, yet, and still have much to learn about their culture.) Unfortunately, my deaf friends are not divers, so they could not offer any information.
SCUBA seems like the perfect sport for divers who are deaf because being deaf is not a handicap underwater. On the contrary, it is now they who can communicate freely and us hearing divers who are handicapped by the regulator stuck in our mouths and the roar of bubbles in our ears.
Anyway, please help.