diving with mentally handicapped person

A short time back an interesting conversation came up at my local dive spot. a couple of mentally handicapped (for lack of better term, retarded) people showed up and were certified and wanted to dive. They were accompanied by their father who was also certified and from the sounds of it may also have had slight reduced mental capacity. I would never have thought they could be certified but apparently they were. They did dive that day.

my questions are , has anyone ever seen this before, how do they get certified, and would you buddy with them? This was a real event and I am interested.

I reserve the right to not dive with anyone with whom I do not feel comfortable.

Reduced mental capacity isn't an automatic deal breaker for me. I DM'd a class a couple of years ago with a mentally challenged person. He knew he didn't catch on fast. He read the book three times before the class started. He asked questions several ways until he understood. I spent extra pool time with him until he was comfortable and his skills were spot on. In the open water he was predictably about a foot from my right shoulder, always my right shoulder. There are divers that could learn from this.

Your call who you dive with. I think I would limit the difficulty of the dive, but not necessarily whether I would dive with them.

I think I'd dive with him. I read the OW book way more than 3 times. Won't tell you how many times I've read all the DM books....

I don't think that I would have a problem with it considering that I worked in the electrical construction business with a bunch of retards for forty years.

gbray:

A short time back an interesting conversation came up at my local dive spot. a couple of mentally handicapped (for lack of better term, retarded) people showed up and were certified and wanted to dive. They were accompanied by their father who was also certified and from the sounds of it may also have had slight reduced mental capacity. I would never have thought they could be certified but apparently they were. They did dive that day.

my questions are , has anyone ever seen this before, how do they get certified, and would you buddy with them? This was a real event and I am interested.

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You ask 2 questions here, how did they get certified, and would you buddy with them.

They got certified the same way as you did, they took the course, did the bookwork, mastered the skills and qualified. They probably had a harder time of it than most people, but they did it and should be rightfully proud of having done so.

I can only speak for Padi but the standards are the same whatever your age, race, sex or mental capacity.

I did some work in the UK with older children who had been classified as having "learning difficulties" (I am not going to use the MR term), they did sometimes require a slightly different teaching technique and a little more time but that did not stop them learning when it was something they wanted to do. Some of these went on to become qualified divers and I never had any doubts about their abilities.

Scuba is a great "equalizer" we all weigh the same underwater and there is a level of diving for everybody providing their physical health is OK. Is there any reason my student with only one leg should not have qualified? No there is not, he completed all the skills (some with leg and some without). What really is the difference?

"Would I buddy with them"
Yes I would and I would treat them with the same caution I would treat you and any other buddy I did not know. Unless I am with a buddy that I have dived regularly with then as far as I am concerned I might as well be solo diving. You do not know my capabilities and I do not know yours. If you presume that because I am an instructor then I will be an "ideal buddy" then you have made a bad decision. 95% of instructors may well be good buddies but what if I am in the other 5% . There are a lot of instructors out there that have the qualification and no real experience.
Sorry if I sound a little harsh, I do not mean to be, but I came to scuba later in life as an unfit "fatty" and I did not have an easy time of my qualification.
Years later I am an instructor, much fitter and a lot lighter and I will work with any student, whatever their difficulties.
Will be interesting to hear other divers thoughts on this subject.

Are you folks speaking of truly ' mentally handicapped--ie "retarded" ' or slightly 'mentally challenged'???.How fast would this person(s) respond in a crisis situation ie OOA etc etc....I can see folks including one as a ?3rd person on a shallow(?easy) dive but not exclusively as an only buddy on a moderate to advanced dive....

Really, have never thought about it....hmmm, something to ponder in the future, maybe.......

Garrobo:

I don't think that I would have a problem with it considering that I worked in the electrical construction business with a bunch of retards for forty years.

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You know, sometimes all my patients of the day seem somewhat like this-------I sometimes look @ my techs(on a Monday or Tuesday let's say) & ask 'today is Friday the 13th, right?'

Yes I would assuming they have their c-card. Proudly. Terry C summed it up pretty well.

I agree... mental or physical "challenges" are just that, challenges. Generally the challenged work harder than average to be considered half as good. I say if they are qualified.. I'd love to dive with them. I'd probably have a better dive too because it would beg to me to see the world from a new/different perspective.

The best dive buddy I ever had was quadriplegic [sp] and yes, I did help do some physical tasks "for" him.. [i met him in ow class in 80's] but trust me, he was a great dive buddy and we could talk for hours of the things we saw/experienced in a 40 min dive.

I've never again found anyone quite so "enchanted" and "excited" about the aquatic world. I still miss him!