Wheel Chair Diver?

OK guys and girls, I am trying to start a SCUBA club at school and was asked a good question. I have someone that is interested in learning to dive but is paralyzed from the waist down. I can see some liability issues there but I would think as long as he gets approval from his doctor and can meet the basic physical requirements such as treading water and swimming the pre-determined distance he would be able to dive. Does any one have any experience with this?

Page about handicapped diving: http://www.diverlink.com/training/handicapped.htm

I have no personal experience with this, but I've seen a wheelchair user taking scuba lessons in the pool. Obviously there are some factors that have to be accounted for, but it can be done.

This has got me thinking about the problems a paralyzed diver woud have to overcome. I'm not sure how a person with paralyzed legs could get onto most boats from in the water unless the boat was equipped with a lifting device, like a crane. For shore dives, I suppose you either have to run the wheelchair into the water, or have some other means of transport, like one or more non-paralyzed people carry you in. You would probably need some help getting into your gear, too. You would need a lot of help to go diving. The controversy over split fins, however, would have few practical consequences for you.

You might try contacting this dive club here in the Boston area for info or ideas -- run by and for "able bodied divers with physical disabilities".

There are also several links to other similar organizations on their site.

http://www.moraywheels.org

My ex boyfriend was a DM and he was specialized in Paralyzed people. He was very good at making them feel confident, but I never got to see how he managed to do that. Anyway, this was just to say it IS possible if you have motivated DMs.

Cheerz and keep us informed !!

I posted about my experiences diving with a paraplegic friend. In a nutshell, it's very possible and rewarding under many conditions, but I recommend a 3-diver team so that the non-paraplegic buddy has someone to rescue him in case of a FUBAR.

Especially after DIR-F, I will never, ever, dive with a buddy who can't rescue me. Unfortunately, this is one of the (relatively few) limitations facing a disabled diver.

I would think the actual liability issues would stem more from inadequate training. So long as the diver dives within his limitations and training, there should be no problem. My friend's training was just downright dangerous - he doesn't understand the risks, nor know what he doesn't know.

diver in Cozumel. He said he dove everyday and
used webbed gloves. I think his legs were tied together
in the water. He claimed to have no trouble drift diving.

He was also a BubbleBoy, foul mouthed jerk.

I didn't dive with him.:mean:

I'm an instructor for the Handicapped Scuba Asssociation Intl. (HSAI)...and very definately a paraplegic can dive and dive very well.

My training with HSAI was quite extensive. We had to be both student and teacher. They bound our legs to simulate para or quad or amputee. It's amazing how much propulsion you can get just using you arms efficiently. We were taught to work with, paraplegia, quadraplegia, amputee, blindness and deafness.

Deafness I consider the hardest to teach-with lip reading most people only "hear" 30% of what's been said.

Blind diving was the most difficult skill for me, I couldn't tell where I was in the water column. Communication is all tactile.

We had extensive class training in the nature of various disabilities...In the case of a para, many use a catheter. I lot of consideration has to given in the wetsuit and boots area. With no feeling it is easy to damage a foot just putting on the equipment. Special care has to given with the environmental area, sun burn...overheating, getting too cold etc.

HSAI gets around the basic abilities issue by issuing 3 levels of certification. First level, the diver can perform all the skills that an able diver can perform including rescues. The 2nd level is where skills such as rescue cannot be performed...this requires a 3 person buddy team...2 able bodied. The 3rd level is issued when the diver requires assistance in the most basic skills (quad). This requires that both buddies have HSAI traing.

Check my website out:

www.cbscubaodyssey.com

On the lead page click on the HSAI icon

Ok so it can most definitely be done, now the real trick is going to be to find an instructor locally. Does any one know if angencies such as SSI, NAUI, or PADI offer programs for disabled divers.

Where exactly are you located