Scuba diving in recent years has become the focus as a good sport for disabled people to have a go at. In the United States it has been taken on as a project for wounded United States Forces veterans as rehab through the Soldiers Undertaking Disabled Scuba scheme. This is a recreational activity being banded as a genuine source of rehabilitation for those considered ‘disabled’. What would be the bonuses of this?

Despite its ‘extreme James Bond’ image, scuba diving does provide a number of bonuses for those who want to give it a try. To get under the water and into a weightless environment can offer un-paralleled freedoms for all. This is before we even consider what beauty and excitement can be encountered under the surface.

In contrast to many sports for wheelchairs such as wheelchair basketball, cycling or rugby there is no need for customized chairs or equipment when a disabled person goes scuba diving. There is no wheelchair in the water and aside from things like wetsuit adjustments (which non-disabled people need as well); there are no massive equipment changes for the individual.

In the same way in many cases there is no penalization for having a disability. Some disabled people have risen all the way through the professional ranks of instructor and above.

After a fall from a third floor balcony 4 years ago I was paralysed below the waist and unable to walk again. However I was lucky enough to have been involved in scuba diving before my accident. Since my return to diving instruction just 1 and ½ months following my discharge from Stoke Mandeville Spinal Injuries unit in the UK, I have continued, working my way up the PADI ladder to the highest rating that can be held by a PADI professional: Course Director which means that I don’t just teach diving but also teach others to become instructors. It was also interesting to learn that I was the first person to reach this level with PADI, seeing how natural scuba seems to me.

The great thing about scuba diving is that it offers someone like myself a chance to throw off those constraints that I have on land in to an environment where I am the same as everyone else in the water. The only difference is that I swim with my arms rather than my legs. I want to be able to share that feeling with other people in my situation, who maybe feel that they could not do something, which is still considered an extreme sport. They can and in many cases are better than non-disabled divers. Even if the person have a more limiting condition, provided that they pass the medical they can be taken diving and see and do things that 95% of people will never see.

Another great advantage is where scuba diving can take you. Since my accident and carrying on scuba instruction I have worked in Thailand and Egypt. I have also dived in Australia, Kenya, Malaysia, the USA, Spain and Croatia. Pretty much anywhere there is water you can dive so why not have a go?

So who can dive?
In the past few years, I have taken on diving courses, paraplegics, quadraplegics, amputees, people with muscular dystrophy and there is the possibility of diving for many other people including Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, and hearing and visually impaired to name a few. In the same way as non-disabled people if you pass the medical saying that you are fit enough to dive then you can be introduced to the underwater world.

The IAHD (International Association for Handicapped Divers) provides a training program, which is recognized by the major training organisations such as PADI, NAUI and SSI. In addition it has programs which train diving instructors to work with disabled people to try and counter previous skepticism encountered by pioneers in disabled diving such as Fraser Bathgate.

Are there any medical benefits from diving?

There are the obvious mental benefits provided by a sport, which breaks down the barriers so much and introduces a whole new world.

I myself cannot emphasise how much it helped with my rehab. Having gone from 100 mph to nothing in an instant and to be told I could still dive and make few changes was a great help. I’m just glad I knew about diving and now want to help as many people who haven’t thought about it, as possible discover it.

Some scuba instructors have remarked that some people they have worked with have actually had less pain underwater than on the surface. Certainly with guys I have taken into the water the change that you can see in people from the moment they take their first breath is staggering. The determination of some of the divers has been incredible too. In efforts to further the possibiities Fraser Bathgate the worlds first ever paraplegic diving instructor and Director of Training for the IAHD is constantly working with governments and medical services on new initiatives for the disabled in scuba diving and rehabilitation.

Physiotherapists of the UK National Spinal Injuries Centre have remarked that there could be genuine use for scuba diving in spinal rehabilitation programs. There is an assessment that where initially people were skeptical that it was too good to be true at first, now it is becoming more accepted as government organisations and medical groups work with the IAHD and other scuba organisations towards implementing more scuba diving for the disabled.

Where can you learn to Dive?

The best place to start is by looking on the web to find your nearest dive school and instructor. The IAHD’s website provides information on where you can find you local IAHD instructor or IAHD Dive centre. PADI provide a similar service on their website. There are also initiatives like try dives run at dive centres worldwide. It is certainly something that everyone can do on holiday and adds an extra dimension to a holiday in contrast to just lying on a beach and opens up a massive array of destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Australia to name just a few.

Mark is a PADI Course Director in Phuket, Thailand.
After learning to dive in Australia Mark got the diving bug so following completion of his university studies worked his way up to PADI Instructor, diving in many countries including Kenya, Spain, Malaysia, Croatia and Thailand.

After this Mark worked in a 5* Career Development Center in Thailand towards the rating of PADI Course Director which he earned in 2008 at the age of 25 becoming one of the youngest Course Directors in the world. He followed this with a stint as a Course Director in the Red Sea.In the past few years Mark has worked with hundreds of students on IDC’s to help them in their goal of becoming PADI Instructors.
Mark also has set another landmark. On land at least Mark is confined to a wheelchair following an accident (Non-diving related) 3 years ago when Mark was working in Thailand. He is the first and only wheelchair user to achieve the rating of PADI Course Director putting him into the top 1% of PADI Instructors.

‘The great thing about scuba diving,’ says Mark, ‘is that it offers someone like myself a chance to throw off those constraints that I have on land in to an environment where I am the same as everyone else in the water. The only difference is that I swim with my arms rather than my legs.’ I just want to get more people able bodied and handicapped to experience the wonders of scuba diving and get themselves as far up the diving ladder as possible.

You can contact Mark Slingo at
PADI Course Director
West Coast Divers Co., Ltd.
PADI Five Star IDC, S-6156
120/1-3 Rat-u-tit 200 Pee Rd
( opposite Patong Bayshore Hotel )
Patong Beach, Kathu, Phuket 83150
Thailand
Tel: 66 7634 1673, 66 7634 1515
Fax: 66 7634 1515
Mobile: 66 8 1797 7142
Skype markslingo
Email:
info@phuketschoolofscuba.com
mark@westcoastdivers.com
Website: http://www.phuketschoolofscuba.com