{"id":12918,"date":"2016-04-25T08:29:42","date_gmt":"2016-04-25T08:29:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/?p=12918"},"modified":"2016-10-10T22:12:46","modified_gmt":"2016-10-10T22:12:46","slug":"diving-with-a-disability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/diving-with-a-disability\/","title":{"rendered":"Diving with a disability"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/p>\n
A scuba diving training program is changing lives for people with disabilities who are swapping wheelchairs for water.<\/strong><\/p>\n
Mark Slingo had just qualified as a diving instructor in Thailand when he had a fall from a balcony that left him a paraplegic. \u2018My boss said \u201cWhy don\u2019t you come back to work to see if you can still teach?\u201d \u2013 ever since then I\u2019ve been trying to get more people in my position to enjoy the benefits of scuba.\u2019<\/p>\n
Mark is one of the board members of Disabled Divers International (DDI), a non profit organisation that conducts disabled scuba diving training programs for professional and nonprofessional students. So far he\u2019s taught 200 instructors around the world how to teach disabled learners to dive.<\/p>\n
In the training Mark includes an introduction to different conditions including Cerebral Palsy, spinal injury and Downs Syndrome but he keeps it brief. \u2018Everyone is different as to what they can and can\u2019t do so it\u2019s important to treat each disabled learner diver as an individual.\u2019<\/p>\n
For people who are wheelchair bound, diving is exhilarating, Mark says. \u2018There\u2019s nothing like it.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018We call ourselves life changers because you see the change in people who think they can\u2019t do it and they do it and get this huge sense of achievement. So often people with disabilities get messages from people around them about what they can\u2019t do.\u2019<\/p>\n
Awareness of the positive health and social benefits of diving has increased dramatically over the last 20 years with both the US and UK military adopting it as a part of their rehabilitation program with disabled veterans and people who\u2019ve been in combat. \u2018There\u2019s a real interest from dive professionals wanting to run these sorts of programs. And because Australia is one of the best diving places on earth Aussie dive teachers are very keen,\u2019 Mark says.<\/p>\n
The teacher<\/strong><\/p>\n
Ash Payne of Perth\u2019s Dive Unlimited<\/strong> was inspired to take up\u00a0DDI Instructor training after one of his student\u2019s friends who\u00a0was in a wheelchair came along to watch them dive. \u2018He said,\u00a0\u201dI wish I could do that!\u201d and I thought, \u201cWhy can\u2019t you?\u201d\u2019<\/p>\n
In 2015 Ash undertook the first DDI Instructor Training course\u00a0in Australia with Mark Slingo. It was a great experience, Ash\u00a0said, but the real learning was in running his first class. Held\u00a0over three days, with one day in a pool and two days in the\u00a0open water, the class attracted six students.<\/p>\n
As a swimming teacher and a dive instructor Ash had plenty\u00a0of experience teaching a wide variety of people, and adapting\u00a0and modifying his techniques. But running a class for people\u00a0in wheelchairs was a \u2018hell of a learning curve. It was like the\u00a0first time I\u2019d taught able bodied people how to dive.\u2019\u00a0Ash thinks he\u2019s a better teacher as a result. \u2018Beforehand my\u00a0approach was to outline the steps, do this, then this, then\u00a0this. But all that goes out the window when you\u2019re teaching\u00a0people with mobility problems. Now I\u2019ve become more\u00a0focussed on how individual people pick up things.\u2019<\/p>\n
Ash says diving is a great way of getting some exercise as well\u00a0as having fun. \u2018You can go diving for a whole day and spend\u00a0maybe 2 hours in the water. The rest of the time is spent\u00a0chatting on shore, having coffee together before the dive, or\u00a0going to the pub afterwards so it\u2019s a very social hobby.\u2019<\/p>\nCassandra (R) celebrating after the dive at Rockingham beach.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
The Learner<\/strong><\/p>\n
Cassandra Burrell<\/strong> grew up spending a lot of time at the\u00a0beach and always wanted to be a marine biologist. But a\u00a0mitochondrial disease means that since age 7 Cassandra\u2019s\u00a0been in a wheelchair.<\/p>\n
Not that that\u2019s stopped her enjoying\u00a0sport. She\u2019s an active member of the WA Wheelchair Sports\u00a0Association and has enjoyed competing in boccia, swimming\u00a0and field events. She now does archery and scuba diving.<\/p>\n
She\u2019d always wanted to try scuba diving and recent\u00a0developments in accessible equipment and training courses\u00a0have made it a much more inclusive sport.<\/p>\n
She did her training with dive instructors Ash Payne and\u00a0Kamila Opon and said the course was excellent. \u2018They\u00a0adapted their teaching and really catered to my needs.\u2019<\/p>\n
Graduating from the swimming pool to the ocean was really\u00a0exciting Cassandra says but the dive was almost derailed\u00a0because the water pressure was making her ears ache. \u2018I\u00a0didn\u2019t think I was going to get too far down there because\u00a0my ears were playing up. I had to keep going up towards\u00a0the surface to equalize them, back and forth for about ten\u00a0minutes.\u2019<\/p>\n
But it was all worth it. \u2018The freedom that you feel with no\u00a0weight, the peace and tranquility are just beautiful. I swam\u00a0past the same reef maybe ten times and each time I\u2019d see\u00a0something different.\u2019<\/p>\n
She\u2019s done another three dives since then and each one gets\u00a0easier, with less to worry about as she develops confidence.<\/p>\n
Buoyancy has been the biggest problem. \u2018The biggest\u00a0challenge was the buoyancy vest but after two sessions I\u2019d\u00a0worked on my technique. Relying on just your arms and hands\u00a0to swim is tricky too because you don\u2019t want to disturb the\u00a0sand or you don\u2019t see anything.’<\/p>\n
\u2018The first two dives someone is with you the whole time,\u00a0practising things with you that you\u2019ve learned in the pool like\u00a0taking your mask off; taking your regulator out and retrieving\u00a0it; checking depth and air gauges and practising hand signals.\u00a0By the third dive, things are easier to remember and you can\u00a0concentrate on swimming and looking at what\u2019s around you.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018We went to Rockingham Beach which has a dive trail where\u00a0they\u2019ve put in a plane and a boat that\u2019s covered with coral\u00a0forms. Swimming round the reef I saw a school of 40\u201350 pearl\u00a0coloured fish, seahorses on the lines, and crabs walking on\u00a0the sand. I had to remember not to hold my breath and keep\u00a0breathing!\u2019<\/p>\n
Cassandra has to space out her diving because\u00a0it takes a toll on her physically but she says it\u2019s worth it. \u2018I\u2019m\u00a0quite happy to just conk out for a couple of days afterwards.\u2019<\/p>\n
Next up Cassandra would love to explore further afield,\u00a0diving at Rottnest Island, or doing some night dives. And\u00a0hopefully seeing some sharks in their natural environment.<\/p>\n
![\"DDI-2-web\"](\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DDI-2-web.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"DDI-4-web\"](\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DDI-4-web.jpg\")
The teacher<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"DDI-3-web\"](\"https:\/\/ala.asn.au\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/DDI-3-web.jpg\")