Hi guys,
a newbie to the forum. ADHD. Some interesting and thought provoking stuff throughout this thread. Provoking enough to make me comment on a few of the issues raised.
As divers we all have a massive ethical and moral responsibility to ourselves and perhaps even more so to our dive buddy(ies). Using that as a foundation, let us consider some of the criteria that are used to diagnose ADHD. These usually include often makes careless mistakes; often has trouble keeping attention on tasks; easily distracted; often does not follow instructions; often loses things. Now imagine that the person who has been clinically diagnosed with these issues is underwater with you, you have a major equipment problem at depth and YOU are reliant upon them to keep you alive. Sound dramatic? It certainly does. Over dramatic? Possibly. It is, however, the very reason that I would simply refuse to dive with you if you had been clinically diagnosed with ADHD. You can take the risk if you want but you are not taking it with me!
We then have the very real issue that we simply do not know how your medication will consistently react at depth, respond to the intake of mixed gases etc. I know that this sounds incredibly harsh but if no clinically proven, scientifically robust trials have been undertaken into the reaction of behavioural control drugs to depth, the intake of mixed gases or partial pressures then I am again afraid that on a basic buddy level I simply would not dive you. The "well, everything has been alright so far" argument is just is not enough to convince me that I can rely upon you when I might REALLY need you!
Changing direction slightly, let us take the trust issue a stage further. Assuming that your courses have been PADI courses then you should have completed a PADI medical questionnaire for each course. In that questionnaire there are clear questions with regard to the taking of prescribed medication AND behavioural health issues. Assuming you answered these questions honestly then your Instructor had a legal, moral and ethical obligation not to allow you to complete your OW, AOW and Rescue Diver courses without having explicit written approval from your doctor that you were fit to dive to the depths permitted by the courses that you completed. This is obviously an issue for you to address with your Instructor but if I were in that position I would be at least slightly concerned. As good a diver as your instructor may appear to be they are exactly that. A diver. Not a trained or qualified medical professional specialising in hyperbaric medicine.
Now let´s progress to the professional ranks. If there are clear ethical, moral and risk issues on the grounds of ADHD and the taking of behavioural control drugs with regard to whether or not we are a "safe" dive buddy then where does that potentially place us as a dive professional responsible for the safety and continued diving development of our students and our clients?
On a practical level, if ADHD is a pre existing and ongoing condition then the likelihood of being able to get the medical and professional liability insurance needed to operate as a teaching status diving professional is slim in the extreme.
The rest, the being responsible for the care and safety of each and every client or student that is under your tutelage in the water? You may potentially be the greatest instructor the world has ever seen, teach tables in a perfect, yet unheard of way that every student gets in two minutes, but diving is so much more than that. It is as safe a past time as it is because we evaluate the risks, weigh up the potential dangers and recognise that if we do not manage these correctly then there is a massive amount that can go wrong. If we need to explain any more than that.........
Think I am scare mongering? Don´t want to take my word for it? Think that I am a long winded bore with too much to say? No problem, ignore the whole lot! Before you do though....
Unfortunately, as a newbie I am not allowed to post direct URLs but have a good look under the Psychiatric heading of the Medical Advice section of the London Diving Chamber website and subject no. 223 (Diving Medicals) under the Medical Discussions heading on the BSAC Forum site. Once you have read those, ask yourself "is diving with ADHD still such a good idea?"
a newbie to the forum. ADHD. Some interesting and thought provoking stuff throughout this thread. Provoking enough to make me comment on a few of the issues raised.
As divers we all have a massive ethical and moral responsibility to ourselves and perhaps even more so to our dive buddy(ies). Using that as a foundation, let us consider some of the criteria that are used to diagnose ADHD. These usually include often makes careless mistakes; often has trouble keeping attention on tasks; easily distracted; often does not follow instructions; often loses things. Now imagine that the person who has been clinically diagnosed with these issues is underwater with you, you have a major equipment problem at depth and YOU are reliant upon them to keep you alive. Sound dramatic? It certainly does. Over dramatic? Possibly. It is, however, the very reason that I would simply refuse to dive with you if you had been clinically diagnosed with ADHD. You can take the risk if you want but you are not taking it with me!
We then have the very real issue that we simply do not know how your medication will consistently react at depth, respond to the intake of mixed gases etc. I know that this sounds incredibly harsh but if no clinically proven, scientifically robust trials have been undertaken into the reaction of behavioural control drugs to depth, the intake of mixed gases or partial pressures then I am again afraid that on a basic buddy level I simply would not dive you. The "well, everything has been alright so far" argument is just is not enough to convince me that I can rely upon you when I might REALLY need you!
Changing direction slightly, let us take the trust issue a stage further. Assuming that your courses have been PADI courses then you should have completed a PADI medical questionnaire for each course. In that questionnaire there are clear questions with regard to the taking of prescribed medication AND behavioural health issues. Assuming you answered these questions honestly then your Instructor had a legal, moral and ethical obligation not to allow you to complete your OW, AOW and Rescue Diver courses without having explicit written approval from your doctor that you were fit to dive to the depths permitted by the courses that you completed. This is obviously an issue for you to address with your Instructor but if I were in that position I would be at least slightly concerned. As good a diver as your instructor may appear to be they are exactly that. A diver. Not a trained or qualified medical professional specialising in hyperbaric medicine.
Now let´s progress to the professional ranks. If there are clear ethical, moral and risk issues on the grounds of ADHD and the taking of behavioural control drugs with regard to whether or not we are a "safe" dive buddy then where does that potentially place us as a dive professional responsible for the safety and continued diving development of our students and our clients?
On a practical level, if ADHD is a pre existing and ongoing condition then the likelihood of being able to get the medical and professional liability insurance needed to operate as a teaching status diving professional is slim in the extreme.
The rest, the being responsible for the care and safety of each and every client or student that is under your tutelage in the water? You may potentially be the greatest instructor the world has ever seen, teach tables in a perfect, yet unheard of way that every student gets in two minutes, but diving is so much more than that. It is as safe a past time as it is because we evaluate the risks, weigh up the potential dangers and recognise that if we do not manage these correctly then there is a massive amount that can go wrong. If we need to explain any more than that.........
Think I am scare mongering? Don´t want to take my word for it? Think that I am a long winded bore with too much to say? No problem, ignore the whole lot! Before you do though....
Unfortunately, as a newbie I am not allowed to post direct URLs but have a good look under the Psychiatric heading of the Medical Advice section of the London Diving Chamber website and subject no. 223 (Diving Medicals) under the Medical Discussions heading on the BSAC Forum site. Once you have read those, ask yourself "is diving with ADHD still such a good idea?"
