Indeed, didn't realise the thread was old, as there are recent replies to it.
I hope, indeed this info will still be useful somehow as it's truly inspiring to allow people with different abilities to enjoy the underwater world.
At the risk of being ridiculed, I thought I'd respond to this very old post as it's a subject that is very dear to me. I am totally blind and am a fully certified scuba diver. I was, and continue to be, trained under the FFESSM system, which in my opinion has the best mentality out of all of the systems I have researched. I personally researched Diveheart and HSA and even have friends who have been trained under the Diveheart system and we have compared copious notes along the way.
FFESSM system is unique in that it is not centered around courses. A diver must sign up with a diving club each season. The diving season lasts for 36 weeks in which divers have the opportunity to dive on a weekly basis and receive training on various skills. However, we do go on trips during the off season. In my club, we have one person who is totally blind, that's me, one person who is visually-impaired, one person who is autistic, another person who has a motor handicap, and a new student who has a cognitive disability. FFESSM has been teaching people with disabilities to dive for more than 40 years. Each diving session lasts about an hour and a half. The majority of the instructors in my club have more than 10 years of experience teaching people with disabilities to scuba dive as safely and as independently as possible. So if one multiplies 36 times 1.5 hours per session and then by 10, for the number of years, that equates to 540 hours of hands on experience working with a diver with disabilities. My lead instructor has been teaching people with disabilities for almost 20 years. It's obvious that FFESSM is a well established system in which instructors receive hands on instruction on how to work with people with a wide range of disabilities. I recently attended the training for instructors and was absolutely amazed at how well the instructors treated us and how well they were taught. Each instructor I dove with had never dove with a totally blind diver, but they were confident in themselves and in me. It was truly refreshing to be treated as another diver. Sure we have disabilities, but at the core, we are human beings who just want to fully embrace the world of scuba diving.
On the other hand, Diveheart's manual contradicts this. They specifically write that people with disabilities are not just another diver. They should be treated differently and may as well have a sticker on them that says, "Fragile, handle with care." If we want to be treated like that, then why in creation would we even decide to try a sport which we know carries with it inherent risks? Despite the best training in the world, scuba diving accidents happen. We all know this and accept the risks and our responsibilities as a scuba diver.
Unfortunately, the FFESSM system is only in French, but I can explain the system to anyone who is interested. I also know that the system is also in Luxumburg and in Luxumburg, they do speak English as well as French. Please feel free to contact me privately if you wish to have more information.
