What is Adaptive SCUBA Diving?
Adaptive SCUBA diving is making the sport accessible to anyone that wants to try it and become certified.
When I tell someone that I teach people with mobility issues or divers who are blind how to scuba dive, they look at me like I have two heads. ultimately the first question is why would someone blind want to Scuba dive, what can they see. “why would someone that can’t walk want to go scuba diving”, “How do you get them to the water?” what if they need “something how do they tell you?”. We do it by Adapting to our student.
There are so many ways to take people underwater, The Scuba industries have invented so many ways to go beneath the sea. Sub Marines , Diving Bells, SCUBA (self contained underwater breathing apparatus) equipment what they haven’t invented because it has always been there is the will of people to do things others have told them they can’t do.
Our minds limit our bodies
How many times have you heard some one say I can’t do that , ever ask them why? some will tell you they were TOLD they couldn’t by someone, because of their size or strength or some other BS reason, and they believed them so they never tried, kind of like a computer, Garbage in Garbage out, not much to them if you put the right information in you get the right information out. People are the same way you tell them they can’t and they will believe you enough people tell them they can’t they will never try.
This guy was never told he couldn’t dive, he said he wanted to and his Father said okay lets see if we can make this happen not to big of a deal unless you know the guy in the picture this is Matt diving to a depth of 16 feet with his dive buddies. right there with him doing what good dive buddies do, staying close. there if he needs something and pointing out interesting stuff, to see. 
This is also Matt when he is not diving he is helping put out the word that because you have a mobility issue you can do what your mind tells you that you can do what ever you want to do, it just may take a bit of adaptation to get it done. Matt has Duchenne muscular dystrophy and is respirator dependent , he is currently the first and only respirator dependent HSA(handicapped Scuba Association) Certified diver in the world (that I know of to date), no one told him he couldn’t
Mountains I can move those
Climbers with disabilities do some amazing things because some one believed in them and didn’t say you can’t, of if they did he found some else that asked why. Darol Kubacz was one of those that figured he could he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.
Chad Jukes and his partner Chad Butrick “Two Climbers, Two Feet and Two Mountains” climb at Ouray Ice Park on Feb. 17, 2010. ” disabled people are doing things that a lot of abled bodied people would do, they have the can do attitude instead of I can’t because for what ever reason some one has given them,
Skiing, Point me down the hill
Blind Skiers take to the slopes every year as shown here in this video
It really makes no difference weather you are a abled bodied or have some kind of injury, amputee , Spinal cord or brain injury if you want to do something try you will amazed at what you can do.
When I am finished telling my inquisitive onlookers what we at San Diego Adaptive Scuba do the look is now changed from one of disbelief to one of awe.
People are limited not by their surroundings or by their physical prowess or strength they are only limited by their will and imaginations.
Don’t let the people you know decide what you can and can’t do let the person inside you free to challenge the world to make a difference you can’t sore with the eagles if you walking with the chickens.
Believe with your hearts you mind your body will follow, ADAPT
Happy Blogging dive safe , have fun
