Yes, your first hand experience makes you a valuable contributor to SCUBABOARD and I imagine other boards as well. I look forward to reading your post and learning from them.
First hand experience in this, or any other subject provides valuable knowledge and input that very relevant, but limited in scope to identical or very similar situations. But does first hand experience make a person an expert on the subject? No, not unless no one has ever done that before. The study of the combined knowledge and experience of thousands of divers with a wide range of disabilities ranging from C1-2 to L4-5 completes and incomplete through Cerebral Palsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, Cancer, Cognitive Disabilities, Amputations to the Visually Impaired (Blind) over many years in locations from all over the world in all different types of diving environments is what confers upon HSA and other certification agencies for the handicapped the word "expert". I spent a year in Iraq advising the Iraqi Security Forces, went on missions with the Iraqis, ate meals with them, visited their homes etc, but that does not qualify me as an expert on Iraq or the war there, it does qualify me as an expert ONLY in the limited area I was in and on the forces I was advising, someone else who was only 3 miles from me an not an adviser, or advising a different force may have had a totally different experience and therefore expertise.
BrokenT10:
as I said before for me, HSA has not been helpful
Not helpful? You chose not to use them, so how could they be? Your experience with HSA is (if I understood you correctly) that you approached a HSA instructor about lessons and upon learning he was a brand new HSA instructor, elected not to use him. HSA instructors are already certified SCUBA Instructors by other agencies (NAUI, PADI, SSI, and others) and provides them with an additional course of instruction on topics specific to training the handicapped to dive. The course is based upon the sum total of knowledge gained from both the study of the subject and the experience of thousands of other handicapped divers and hundreds of other instructors who have taught the handicapped to SCUBA dive since 1982. You decision to take your SCUBA training (I understand you certified post accident) from another instructor who had no training at all on the subject of teaching the handicapped to SCUBA dive and for both of you to “figure it out for yourself as you went” is your prerogative. Was it the right choice for you? Well since that was the choice you made we must say yes. But others may choose to take advantage of the knowledge and experience already gained not only by visiting this board and others, but by taking training form an agency that has been training the handicapped to dive.
The advantage of a formal training is that it not only saves time but more importantly it gives a person a broader base of experience gained from a wide variety of peoples life experiences in the particular area of training. A person with a formal training still needs to have life experiences true. But even before they get that life experience they already have a broad base of tools (others experience) to draw from which puts them ahead of others who are also starting from zero experience or knowledge in the field.
I believe that for a handicapped individual to take their SCUBA training, either for the first time or to re-certify from an agency like HSA or IHDA or some other agency is a good thing as it gives the diver a head start and the advantage of years of other handicapped divers experience. I believe that an instructor or a dive buddy should receive formal training in the subject before they start teaching or diving with a handicapped diver. Notice I do not say "must" or "have to", but "should". You obviously have a different opinion. That is fine.
