OW student problems............

We have a big problem here :fury:.
One of my open water students ( 25 years of age) just can't get the written open water exam done.
He is failing and failing again.
Many people try to explain the different physical laws and table use to him, but we don’t know if he really understands us :bonk:.
According to his parents he is not retarded.


He performed very well in the water while executing the different exercises.
He feels very comfortable under water.

I personally think this guy has a right to dive and he really loves it, but there is also a safety issue here.

Should he be certified OW diver or not???????

What is you opinion.

Fa

He should not be certified until he can pass the exam. You can't certify everyone. If he continues to study, he might pass it yet.

WWW™

Sky,

Did this young person graduate from school? What age and level?

There is a "disease" called dyslexia which causes a person to not be able to unravel words and/or numbers. These people seem normal in every other sense. Charles Schwab, the CEO of the financial firm of that name is dyslexic and is obviously capable of creating a very successful enterprise.

But you need to find out what the problem is. Once you have done that, you can correspond with PADI, etc. Maybe our Medical section can give you some guidance???

Until you understand what is causing his problem and what the history was of persons with such a problem is, I agree with Walter: it is too risky to vary from normal requirements. Diving is not only physical--there is a mental component, too. You would not want a person diving who cannot understand what the numbers signify on his computer, pressure gauge, etc,

Joewr

Dyslexia is possible here, and dyslexic persons are not necessarily unable to think through or understand a problem. They may have a great deal of difficulty understanding a verbally presented problem, but be able to deal with a situation appropriately.

That said, I think you need to stick to your present stance.. Scuba is both a manual and intellectual sport.
You have to be able to do both to a reasonable extent, and those extents are defined by the testing and certification process.

The education and testing process is designed to verify that a diver has the minimum skills to deal with not only an uncomplicated dive, but have basic self-rescue and safety knowledge. That is not to say that all divers practice accordingly,.. there are certainly some "interesting" fellow divers out there.. but a diver must know the essentials of safety, emergency assessment and basic self and buddy rescue.

If you are absolutely convinced this person can not only deal intelligently with an uncomplicated dive, but can also appropriately rescue you or your child or wife in a buddy situation when the crap hits the fan and everything is going wrong, then they probably can dive.. Just remember, you are not only staking your reputation and liability on this, but also are potentially risking other divers lives if an accident happens. There are plenty of other demanding sports out there for those that aren't good candidates for diving.

I realize that doesn't directly answer your question. We just all need to remember we don't train for when things go right.. that is easy.. we train for when things go wrong.

Sooner or later, Murphy's law prevails and things go wrong.

That is not the right time to be in the same ocean as an ill-prepared diver.

Dive safe and often,
John Reinertson

Is it against the rules to give him the test orally? If not call the question to him with the chooses (if there are any) and then let him answer them.

I cannot speak to whether the test can be given orally.. That is commonly done with dyslexics and is probably completely fair, but each organization has rules regarding testing and certification..

If a propblem emerges during a dive, it is extremely likely to not be a written or verbal problem. It will be one of malfunction or mishap and being able to think their way through the solution, applying what is known to make a rational choice.

Many dyslexics have a clear difficulty with written problems and can handle them fine when presented as a mock scenario or underwater emergency. If you are cert of his abilities above, talk with your certifying agency to see what they allow.

I know of several instructor that have given the OW exams orally...both because of Dyslexia and because English is not their student's native language. In Guam, we have alot of Japanese, Korean and Chinese that can understand and speak english very well...but still have a hard time with the written word.

As far as I know, this does not break PADI standards, as long as the questions are read outloud and the student does not receive any prompting from the instructor. Might be a good idea to have another instructor sit in on the verbal test...just to cover your butt.

Those replies are comforting me in the idea that diving is both a physical and mental process.

About dyslexia, that was our first idea.
His parents told us he is not; they just told us he is a little slow.

He really seems to have attention problems.
Doesn’t take any medication.
He is working in a car repair shop but he is not a mechanic. (failed to become one in school).
He seemed to be mature, and still lives with his parents (officially because of financial problems)

About oral exam, we read the questions and answers for him; after tree attempts he was able to get 60% but he needs 75% to be certified (three times the same questionnaire).

I personally don’t want him to get certified because he might be a potential danger for himself and friends.

We took him 2 weeks ago with us for a “ baptême “ dive there where two instructors with him. For a first ‘ natural site “ diving he perform a very good dive : 20 minutes at 6 meters.
After the dive the guy looked so happy…


I personally don’t want him to get certified because he might be a potential danger for himself and friends.


Thanks for your help

Will tell you more after our next club meeting

The student must be able to make safe dives. Period. If he's to use tables to calculate surface intervals and acceptable bottom times then he must be able to do so before certification. No accomodation to a disability is acceptable on this point.
That said, if he can read and obey a computer then he can be certified under SDI now, and probably under the other agencies within a few years.
Rick

Nobody has a "right" to dive, just as nobody has a "right" to operate a motor vehicle. It's a priviledge that one must earn after taking (and passing) the required academic and field exams. If he can't pass the academic portion, tough. The OW academics are not that difficult. It's his responsibility to prepare himself, you're not under any obligation to try to psycho-analyze him to find out what his problem is.

Originally posted by sky50960
We have a big problem here :fury:.
One of my open water students ( 25 years of age) just can't get the written open water exam done.
He is failing and failing again.
Many people try to explain the different physical laws and table use to him, but we don’t know if he really understands us :bonk:.
According to his parents he is not retarded.


He performed very well in the water while executing the different exercises.
He feels very comfortable under water.

I personally think this guy has a right to dive and he really loves it, but there is also a safety issue here.

Should he be certified OW diver or not???????

What is you opinion.

Fa

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