Blind friend wants to dive...

[haha49]

ok my blind friend wants to dive i was wondering what special gear could he get so he knows how much air ect he has as he can read brail but a brail watch under watter isnt watter proof.. he wants to take the course after i told him i did it..

 

[Diving Doc]

ok my blind friend wants to dive i was wondering what special gear could he get so he knows how much air ect he has as he can read brail but a brail watch under watter isnt watter proof.. he wants to take the course after i told him i did it..

Get in touch with these guys

http://www.iahd.org

They have loads of info on adaptive techniques for handicapped divers and may even be able to put you in touch with somebody near you for training etc

 

[undrwater]

i'm guessing there is no equipment in general production that will enable a blind person to check depth or pressure. I can imagine a waterproof membrane on top of a Braille display run by a computer that might do the trick.

More realistically, a blind diver should have a buddy who is trained to give touch signals such as divers use during a silt-out.

Back in tech-weenie-land: not many blind people use Braille, so I'm imagining a dive computer with audio output.

 

[miketsp]

Well I'm going to be a little politically incorrect here.
Just what is a blind diver going to get out out of a dive?
One of the basic rules is not to touch.
Without touch & without sight swimming around in a pool is no different from swimming over a beautiful reef.
A blind diver will always be totally dependent on a buddy unless equipped with some electronics / mechanics to translate depth, ascent rate and remaining air into some sort of acoustical / tactile output.

 

[Mr.X]

Well I'm going to be a little politically incorrect here.
Just what is a blind diver going to get out out of a dive?
One of the basic rules is not to touch.
Without touch & without sight swimming around in a pool is no different from swimming over a beautiful reef.
A blind diver will always be totally dependent on a buddy unless equipped with some electronics / mechanics to translate depth, ascent rate and remaining air into some sort of acoustical / tactile output.

I would think they would get a lot out of it. You'd have to talk to someone who has done it before and get their impressions. Not being able to see, hear, speak etc does not preclude an individual from discovering new activities.

An example: I am hearing and speaking. Yet, I learned a little ASL. Boy, did that change my life for the better. It's a whole new world now.

X

 

[undefined]

I'm going to go out on a major politically incorrect limb here and say that a blind diver has no business in open water. They cannot be self sufficient underwater, cannot use standard gauges in case of computer failure, and will be so heavily dependent on their buddy that it creates a hazard.

If a blind person wishes to try it in confined water or a pool that should be possible, but in open water there is already a great deal that can go wrong. Without the ability to see your surroundings you put yourself and your buddy at higher risk of injury and almost guarantee that you will do some level of damage to the underwater environment.

This isn't about equal rights or treating people with disabilities fairly - this is about their safety and the safety of the other divers and environment they dive in.

 

[fisherdvm]

First, is the seeing eye dog certified to dive.

Second, has his seeing eye dog taken a diver rescue class.

Third, and foremost, have you worked out a sound signal system so your dive buddy (the seeing dog) know when you are low on air....

Last I read, they do not have dive computers nor gauges made in braile...

 

[DoItRite]

We did a confined water only course for a blind diver a few years back - it was very rewarding for all of us. Even he admitted that going to open water would be kinda pointless.

 

[vladimir]

Well I'm going to be a little politically incorrect here.
Just what is a blind diver going to get out out of a dive?

The sensation of weightlessness (which, admittedly, you can get in a pool), the feeling of the ocean's surge and currents, the sounds of whales calling, toadfish mating calls, parrotfish crunching the reef, dolphins clicking, and a sense of accomplishment at successfully challenging an alien environment. And if he dives around here, the ability to see as far as his buddies for a while.

 

[H2Andy]

i am pretty sure that no agency out there certifies blind divers ... but...

he still can be introduced to scuba and dive under supervision just to feel what it's like. i'm sure that can be accomplished

look at what Matt has accomplished with a little bit of help