Dyslexic Diver needs advice!

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Don't get too jammed up over the tables. The reality is that the last time most divers will ever see a dive table is on their SCUBA written exam.

It's open water diving. If your computer fails, surface with your buddy and end the dive.

Dive Tables are like "brushing your teeth after every meal". Everybody agrees it's a nice idea, but few people actually do it.

flots.

Flots has it spot on here. I learned the tables but my computer does the work. If the computer fails, I am done diving that day unless I can fix it. If it cant be easily fixed (battery change) then its time for siesta and cold ones. If I am on vacation, I will rent a computer until its time to come home.

My brain work just fine - most of the time - and I cant remember where the tables are much less the details on it.
 
I have a friend who is dyslexic and his diving improved tremendously when he started GUE-style training (sometimes called DIR, UTD and others). I do not think it was the GUE specifics per se that was the key, but the repetitive nature and consistency in the program and skills that helped him. Gear set ups, how you plan a dive, what you do when this happens or that happens is drilled and repeated until it becomes second nature. In other words it takes some of the cognitive thought out of it and allowed him to just do what he was trained to do. He is now very solid in the water (so much so I have considered trying it myself). Just something to consider.
 
Newbie, I have worked with students who have learning challenges, and very recently with a dyslexic student. I only teach private courses, so I am able to shape the course to the student's needs. In the case of my recent OW dyslexic student, I sat him down with the materials all in one place--the manual, the video, a remote control, the study questions. I had him read the study question and then watch the video until he got an idea of the answer, and then I had him read the manual until he got to the part of it where the information matched. He would rewind the video to view it again, re-read the text to make sense of it, and then wrote out his answer. We went over all the questions to make sure he could explain them to me rather than the other way around, and then he did his quiz or test. He scored between 90 and 100 percent on each of five quizzes or tests.

For courses with more depth of information in physics and physiology, I try to make sure that students can visualize the processes so that they are less "abstract" and more "concrete." Doing this helps people understand what's behind the numbers and the details. This kind of work is most effective when it's a one-on-one course so that the student doesn't feel singled out for struggling with the material, so I'd recommend a private course with a sympathetic instructor who is willing to work with you to find the best "key" to unlock the information in a way your brain can make sense of it.

Quero!

Thats...EXACTLY...how I am learning all of this! It's as if you actually peeked into my home and watched me study!

I have to stop. Visualize. Watch the DVD (again) and then read the same chapter (again). And then repeat. And then repeat again...sigh.

I discovered that the benefit of this, is that I retain the information, where as the typical student easily forgets what he/she read.

After I finish with this process, I am the first to answer questions in class, and am usually right, or volunteer to do a certain skill in water first, and end up doing it well.

However, if I am still unsure about a skill, I wait and see another attempt it and take mental notes before doing it myself.

I would LOVE to find a Instructor for a private course, but my next step would be diving (pun intended!) into becoming a Dive Master, as after my stress and rescue class in two weeks, I will have my Master Diver cert.

Thank you for your advise! Was helpful!

---------- Post Merged at 05:41 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:36 PM ----------

Thanks Flots!

I want to be one of the few people who actually do it!

It's important to me, as a diver, to know how to deal with any panic situation, and to react from what I learned.

It is a comfort however, to know, that I can cut myself some slack, and spend time on other important skills and equations though, instead of all the tables and charts!

Thanks again!

---------- Post Merged at 05:46 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:36 PM ----------

And don't think that you have to choose an instructor by agency. Or shop. There are many independent instructors for other agencies like NAUI and SEI that have nearly total freedom to tailor a course to the student.

Jim

Now, I love that idea! Will definitely look into that!

I thought once I was in a specific agency, that I had to stick with it.

I read where Dive Masters and Instructors add or switch between other agencies, but didnt think that was an option for me.

Now, u got me thinking....

Smiling!

Thanks Jim!

---------- Post Merged at 05:49 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:36 PM ----------

Thanks Lucky!

Genuinely appreciate your advise and input!

---------- Post Merged at 05:57 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:36 PM ----------

I have a friend who is dyslexic and his diving improved tremendously when he started GUE-style training (sometimes called DIR, UTD and others) .

Merxlin,

Going to google this as soon as I finish with your reply! Thank you!

Funny, you mentioned this.

As a example of what you wrote, when I first learned to put my rig together, I kept it getting it backwards (first stage and tank). My hoses were in the opposite sides, etc...

So, I was so angry at myself, I spent that night, going over it again and again. And when I was reasonably comfortable in knowing how to connect it all together, I then closed my eyes, and put it together by feel only.

I did that, to the point of exhaustion. But for me, it helped. The next pool session, I was the first one done with setting up my rig. I know its not a race, but felt good to know, ever since then, I am the first one to have my rig ready and even help out others in my class who still seem to be unsure of themselves.

I will certainly look into this alternative style!

Appreciate the time you took to add your advise.

---------- Post Merged at 06:04 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 05:36 PM ----------

Johan,

Thank you for the encouragement!

Not sure if the study material I have in mind would work for most divers! LOL

Appreciate the time and reply!
 
Quero!

Thats...EXACTLY...how I am learning all of this! It's as if you actually peeked into my home and watched me study!

I have to stop. Visualize. Watch the DVD (again) and then read the same chapter (again). And then repeat. And then repeat again...sigh.

I discovered that the benefit of this, is that I retain the information, where as the typical student easily forgets what he/she read.

After I finish with this process, I am the first to answer questions in class, and am usually right, or volunteer to do a certain skill in water first, and end up doing it well.

However, if I am still unsure about a skill, I wait and see another attempt it and take mental notes before doing it myself.

I would LOVE to find a Instructor for a private course, but my next step would be diving (pun intended!) into becoming a Dive Master, as after my stress and rescue class in two weeks, I will have my Master Diver cert.

Thank you for your advise! Was helpful!
My pleasure. You are welcome to come train with me any time you wish. I have a long and solid professional background in education, and maybe this makes a difference in the way I approach individualization of instruction. It's funny, but the biggest challenge I faced working with the dyslexic student I described was in our face-to-face interaction. He's from Ireland and speaks with a very, very strong brogue, so I had to pay close attention to make sure I caught everything he was saying, LOL.
 
Newbie, I am only starting on the path of teaching in SCUBA, but I have spent years teaching in my profession, plus photography and woodworking. I can only personally say that those who are true teachers relish the challenge (in a good way) of expanding their teaching to accommodate all. In my experience, it only makes me a better teacher. The true teacher understands all students are different, no matter how the higher ups or agencies want to imply otherwise. In my SCUBA experience, I have had wonderful experiences. For example, my OW instructor had four 12 year olds, and many up to my age past 50. He did a fabulous job of catering to all of our learning needs, a tall order. And all of my teachers have taken the time, on or off the clock, to address my many questions (I am a curious soul).

In my family we often joke, in a given class, who leans more- the student or the teacher.

Bottom line, as has been mentioned many times above, find the right teacher (not agency), and both you and they will flourish. This coming from one from a family of teachers ;-)

PS- I have mild
dyslexia. Just have to work a little harder :)
 
Never never give up, I have personally seen dive instructors who are about as dumb and bag of nuts and I just can't figure out how they passed grade school... Zero patience, zero communication skills etc, then there are those who seen to use the students as a way to vent their frustrations.

I teach tennis for fun among my friends and I have seen some tennis coaches who talk crap the whole time without actually doing anything useful (the only place I on the court I think they are suitable is as a janitor) so my take is find a good patient instructor and join a club where the pp are very experience and willing to teach.

Good luck!
 
...//...As the coursework becomes increasingly more difficult, specifically, physics and equations for Nitrox, is there any advice as far as understanding all of this new information? ...//...

Yes, play to your own strengths.


Explanation:

I have a lot of experience helping a diver with learning differences.

Let me guess, you look at page 95 in your NAUI Nitrox Diver book and you freeze.

With that in mind, I'd like to see how many nitrox divers (that don't teach) can still come up with the EAD calculation. No, Really!!! OK, start turning all those cards back in if you can’t!

What I have found, through assisting my friend, is that you must to be able to talk your way through it. Front to finish, include all the stumbles. When you get it right, you write it all down. Please know that memorizing complex equations works just long enough to pass a test, nothing more.

Let’s do a "talk-through" as an example:

EAD. This is going to be long and will most likely only make sense to you. But you are why I found and re-typed this.

Equivalent Air Depth. Stupidly confusing name. Is this the depth where air would give you the same oxygen toxicity as the nitrox mix in question or is it the depth where air would give you the same nitrogen narcotic effect as the nitrox mix in question? Wait, no, maybe it has to do with nitrogen dissolving in tissues and the bends...

What are we talking about nitrogen or oxygen??? Ambiguous. Meltdown.

Recovery:
When I see EAD, I think EAND. Equivalent air NITROGEN depth. Ok, nitrogen. Totally FORGET OXYGEN for this problem. That would be a MOD problem. Which begs the question, why is MOD the “maximum operating depth”, is it due to oxygen toxicity or nitrogen. Ha! Again, stupidly ambiguous. It isn’t you, pal. The naming conventions suck.


Back to the problem, focus. EAD. (think EAND)
I’m breathing a mix that has more oxygen and less nitrogen than air. Only worried about nitrogen for now. I’m breathing something that contains less nitrogen. So, breathing nitrox at some given depth, what different depth would give me the same bad effects of nitrogen if I were breathing air?

Maybe deeper, because nitrox has less nitrogen in it? No. They are asking it the other way around, what is the depth where air would give me the same effects that I’m now getting by breathing nitrox at my present depth.

So where I’m breathing nitrox, I’d have to be shallower to get the same nitrogen effect if I was breathing air. This is because air has more nitrogen in it. So my answer is that the equivalent air (nitrogen) depth has to be some number that is shallower than my real, true, depth when breathing nitrox. Ok, I need to come up with a shallower depth.

Now that my thinking is straight, time for some math.

The fraction of air that is nitrogen is either 0.78 or 0.79 depending on how you figure. I use 0.78 as the 1% difference is a mixture of a bunch of odd gasses that don’t count here due to the fact that they aren’t nitrogen. If in doubt, read the law of partial pressures.

Every 33 feet of seawater gives me another atmosphere of pressure. You know that. For EAN 32, 32% is oxygen. Stupid naming convention, we are using this mix just to reduce nitrogen, not to increase oxygen. Nevermind, just another distraction. The nitrogen fraction of EAN 32 (1.00- 0.32) is 0.68 nitrogen. The oxygen fraction is 0.32, thus its name, EAN 32.

So now, for any depth where we are breathing our nitrox mixture, we can come up with a new depth (EAD) where we get the same nitrogen effects if breathing air. Being the same, we can equate them.

[(RealDepth/33) + 1] x 0.68 =[(EAD/33) + 1] x 0.78
This is just ATA x FractionN2 on either side of the equation. ATA's are the same as you learned in OW, Nitrogen fraction is given in this course.
Just plug in the numbers and solve for the only non-number, EAD.

Example:
What is the EAD for EAN 32 at 100 feet?

[(100/33) + 1] x 0.68 = [(EAD/33) + 1] x 0.78

Plug in and grind it out, step by step:
[4.03] x 0.68 = [(EAD/33) + 1] x 0.78
2.74 = [(EAD/33) + 1] x 0.78
2.74/0.78 = EAD/33 + 1
3.51 = EAD/33 +1
3.51 -1 = EAD/33
2.51 = EAD/33
2.51 x 33 = EAD
82.8 = EAD



So to answer your OP:
Do this exercise cold with your own stumbling blocks. Same for all the other calcs you have to do. Write them all down on their own sheets, save, and review them. Replay the entire scenarios from scratch now and again. You will be able to come up with any calculation that you need just by thinking it through.

Best,
lowviz
 
I think the OP is doing everything right. Early study, repetition, and especially being an active diver. I suspect, NewbieScubyDoo, that you will be just as successful in future classes as in past ones. I grew up in an era where dyslexia existed by was rarely diagnosed. I had and have it. We each learn to cope in our own way. You are doing great. I use computer and tables on every dive. I dive with a buddy on every dive. Nitrox use is made easy by having nitrox tables tables, just like the RDP. So relax, and continue to inspire by your example. No worries.
DivemasterDennis
 
TD,

Thanks for the time to write a reply!

Like you, I am not only curious, but have a real hunger for knowledge. With each cert, and dive, I leave wanting to know so much more.

Thanks again,
J.

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Never never give up

Sang,

Thank u!

Trust me, I will NEVER give up. I actually dig in deeper when I get frustrated with the way my brain mixes everything up.

I actually live the mantra, "Stop, breathe, think, and act".

And when I had that interaction with my OW instructor, it only fueled me to continue and master that particular skill.

Thank you for the encouragement and well wishes!
J.

---------- Post Merged at 12:52 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:46 PM ----------

Lowviz (great name BTW!)

I have printed out your reply and already read it several times and will break it down by paragraphs so I can understand it completely.

THANK YOU Brother!

---------- Post Merged at 12:58 PM ---------- Previous Post was at 12:46 PM ----------

Divemaster Dennis,

Thank you for the reply!

I actually bought the books, "Jumpstart the Divemaster in you", and the others that ent along with it, to add to all my coursework, to help me better understand. I think that is you and your wife...?

Anyway, thanks for the encouragement, as I soldier through.

Two weeks away and I already read and took the mini quizes 6 times for Stress and Rescue as well as the Nitrox course. My erasable boards looks like a physics lab! LOL

Thanks again,
J.
 
newbie it seems to me you are going about things the right way. I am also dyslexic and your troubles are oh so familiar to me. But stick with it, I did and I made I through to instructor. One thing that I have always maintained is I do not have a learning disability, I just have a very different way of learning that does not fit in with mainstream education, and actually has many advantages once you discover them. The best analogy is a dyslexic brain runs on a different operating system it’s like apple and windows, one is not necessarily better than the other just not always compatible. so it is no good for an Apple to have a Windows instructor. You either need to find a compatible instructor or take the all the materials and self-learn or a combination of both, and with the practical work get as much practice as you can with heaps of repetition. Self-learning will probably be the key for you, I have found very few people who have been able to actually teach me so I had to learn to teach myself, take the information dissect it and reassemble it so it makes sense, once you learn how to do that it becomes a very powerful tool. Avoid instructors like the one you experienced in your OWC like the plague, you can’t learn from someone like that, I have also found more success with female instructors also. Good luck you will get there. And remember dyslexia is NOT a learning disability just a compatibility problem.
 

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