Diving Instructors Receive Training for Scuba Diving with the Disabled

Diving instructors attended a three day training programme at the Deep Blue Scuba & Swim Centre in Long Beach, California last weekend, which provided them with training and certification from the Handicapped Scuba Association.

The non-profit company, based in San Clemente, enabled divers to assist disabled participants in learning how to scuba dive so they too could head off on adventurous scuba diving holidays.

Cassandra Tang had never learnt to swim as a child and after a gunshot wound left her paralysed when she was 22 years old, her fear of the water intensified.

However, 20 years later, Tang, now 40 years old, was one of the participants who received tuition from divers at the Long Beach scuba diving centre.

After breathing nine feet underwater, Tang popped up to adjust her goggle, exclaiming: "It's so amazing!" over and over again.

Divers, including 52-year-old Jose Luna, were able to get hands-on experience with disabled people in the water.

"You have to take a lot into consideration, like how you hold them," he explained. "Some might not be able to keep the regulator in their mouth. And eye contact is so important, it tells you if they're OK or not. But the one thing I've really learned is that these folks don't whine and they have a lot of heart."

Luna has been scuba diving for four years and recently retired from his job at the Eastern Municipal Water District. With extra time on his hands, his diving instructor encouraged him to become certified as a "dive buddy" and help out with disabled swimmers who were looking to learn to scuba dive.

Another dicer, Jason Aurand, charters dive boats and was keen to find a way of working comfortably with his hearing-impaired customers during their scuba diving holidays.

The 33-year-old said: "It was a little nerve-wracking. I didn't want to do anything wrong to hurt them."

Aurand assisted 17-year-old Gracie Williams, who was born with cerebral palsy and walks with crutches, as she took to the water like a fish.

Each disabled person was assisted by three divers who were on hand to manage the air tanks and ensure the participant was comfortable throughout the exercises.

The sessions allowed divers to become certified so they could provide tuition during scuba diving holidays for the disabled, while the participants gained valuable experience for future therapeutic scuba diving holidays.