Experiences as a blind diver in the Diveheart system

[joshuabowen]

Hello Everyone, I am a totally blind new to diving person in Oregon in the United States. I wanted to discuss some observations that I have had while diving under the Diveheart system. For those who do not know, Diveheart is a non-profit organization based in the United States. Their mission is to help people with disabilities scuba dive. Having been under the dive heart system for a couple of months now, I have several questions and observations.

First, I learned the knowledge and skills from the PADI open water course. Because I could not complete the comps portion of the skills, I was not able to receive my open water certification through PADI. When I talked to my dive heart instructor about being certified I was told that because I could not complete all the requirements for PADI, I had to be certified through Diveheart.

I have several questions and observations.
First, PADI open water course will certify you to a maximum depth of 60 feet which is 18 meters. Diveheart certification does not state a maximum depth level. If you don't have this information, how can you know what your dive limits are? How can you communicate this information to the crew on a boat for example? This is my first post and I will add more observations to this thread as I come across them. I look forward to any discussion on these and other topics.

 

[Rob9876]

Hi Joshua, welcome to the forums! I don't know the specific answer to your question about maximum depth with DiveHeart Adaptive Diver certification, I'm tagging the folks from @DiveHeart who do post in this forum fairly often.

 

[armeyer82]

Hello Everyone, I am a totally blind new to diving person in Oregon in the United States. I wanted to discuss some observations that I have had while diving under the Diveheart system. For those who do not know, Diveheart is a non-profit organization based in the United States. Their mission is to help people with disabilities scuba dive. Having been under the dive heart system for a couple of months now, I have several questions and observations.

First, I learned the knowledge and skills from the PADI open water course. Because I could not complete the comps portion of the skills, I was not able to receive my open water certification through PADI. When I talked to my dive heart instructor about being certified I was told that because I could not complete all the requirements for PADI, I had to be certified through Diveheart.

I have several questions and observations.
First, PADI open water course will certify you to a maximum depth of 60 feet which is 18 meters. Diveheart certification does not state a maximum depth level. If you don't have this information, how can you know what your dive limits are? How can you communicate this information to the crew on a boat for example? This is my first post and I will add more observations to this thread as I come across them. I look forward to any discussion on these and other topics.

As a totally blind diver myself and having read the Diveheart Adaptive Diver manual in its entirety, it appears that Diveheart does not certify its adaptive divers to a maximum depth. If I may make a presumption, the maximum depth of the adaptive diver is left to the Diveheart Adaptive Dive Team's discretion. Diveheart doesn't believe that the maximum depth is necessary to know, simply because the adaptive diver will always be with at least two Diveheart Adaptive Dive buddies. Diveheart Adaptive Divers are not certified to dive outside of Diveheart. Someone from Diveheart is welcome to correct me if I am wrong.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Do you only dive with Adaptive Dive buddies? Is it possible for you to dive with a regular DM or instructor? I imagine your depth would really depend on the depth your buddies can dive to, as well. I mean, they are the ones who are going to be watching your depth, tank pressure, rate of ascent, deco requirements, etc., no?

There really should be some way that you could dive with a PADI certified buddy who maybe is a wee more trained than the average bear but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying diving when and where you want. Of course, as a sighted person, I have no idea what limitations you dive with, if any, but I really want to learn.

 

[armeyer82]

Do you only dive with Adaptive Dive buddies? Is it possible for you to dive with a regular DM or instructor? I imagine your depth would really depend on the depth your buddies can dive to, as well. I mean, they are the ones who are going to be watching your depth, tank pressure, rate of ascent, deco requirements, etc., no?

There really should be some way that you could dive with a PADI certified buddy who maybe is a wee more trained than the average bear but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying diving when and where you want. Of course, as a sighted person, I have no idea what limitations you dive with, if any, but I really want to learn.

Hi there,
According to the Diveheart Adaptive Diver Manual, Diveheart Adaptive Divers must dive with Adaptive Dive Buddies. This is due to the fact that Diveheart does not award its Adaptive divers with an official open water certification or equivalent. As a matter of fact, the Diveheart Adaptive Diver Manual teaches no scuba physiology, nor does it cover basic scuba principles. What it does discuss is what adaptations are necessary or recommended for an Adaptive Diver to be able to dive as part of a Diveheart Adaptive Dive team.

Regarding the limitations that we as totally blind people dive with, we discuss those in a podcast that I host. Feel free to check it out at https://VisionFreediving.VisionFreeAccess.net. It is also available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music and others. Just search for VisionFree Diving.

I however, do not dive under the Diveheart System, but am a fully certified scuba diver. I am certified to dive to a maximum depth of 20 meters and am working on the skills and techniques necessary to be able to dive to a maximum depth of 40 meters. For more information about the system I dive under, as well as a simple overview of Diveheart's system, we invite you to check out my podcast mentioned above. I would love an opportunity to dive with a regular dive master from PADI or similar. I would only need to review the tactile hand signals with the dive master and I would need a single guide just for me.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

Hi there,
According to the Diveheart Adaptive Diver Manual, Diveheart Adaptive Divers must dive with Adaptive Dive Buddies. This is due to the fact that Diveheart does not award its Adaptive divers with an official open water certification or equivalent. As a matter of fact, the Diveheart Adaptive Diver Manual teaches no scuba physiology, nor does it cover basic scuba principles. What it does discuss is what adaptations are necessary or recommended for an Adaptive Diver to be able to dive as part of a Diveheart Adaptive Dive team.

Regarding the limitations that we as totally blind people dive with, we discuss those in a podcast that I host. Feel free to check it out at https://VisionFreediving.VisionFreeAccess.net. It is also available on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Amazon Music and others. Just search for VisionFree Diving.

I however, do not dive under the Diveheart System, but am a fully certified scuba diver. I am certified to dive to a maximum depth of 20 meters and am working on the skills and techniques necessary to be able to dive to a maximum depth of 40 meters. For more information about the system I dive under, as well as a simple overview of Diveheart's system, we invite you to check out my podcast mentioned above. I would love an opportunity to dive with a regular dive master from PADI or similar. I would only need to review the tactile hand signals with the dive master and I would need a single guide just for me.

It's a date. I would love to learn that from you.

This may be insensitive but would you speculate that being fully blind might give someone an advantage in cave diving?

 

[armeyer82]

I've always wondered that myself actually. I have yet to do cave diving, but I've heard that one of the biggest challenges is being able to orient oneself in low or no visibility. Obviously, being totally blind, no visibility wouldn't cause me to panic. So, if I have the opportunity to go cave diving someday, I'd definitely like to try, after receiving the correct training of course.

 

[joshuabowen]

Do you only dive with Adaptive Dive buddies? Is it possible for you to dive with a regular DM or instructor? I imagine your depth would really depend on the depth your buddies can dive to, as well. I mean, they are the ones who are going to be watching your depth, tank pressure, rate of ascent, deco requirements, etc., no?

There really should be some way that you could dive with a PADI certified buddy who maybe is a wee more trained than the average bear but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying diving when and where you want. Of course, as a sighted person, I have no idea what limitations you dive with, if any, but I really want to learn.

Hello:
There is no way to dive outside of the Diveheart system. According to there own manual which I am quoting here.
This is from
Chapter 3, page 16





If you need special assistance from another diver to perform required scuba skills, then you will be required to dive with an Adaptive Dive Team consisting of two certified Adaptive Dive Buddies and your certification will be conditioned on diving with them.
I would love to dive with a PADI certified instructor with some communications as to different hand signals for communication ect. It isn't right that we are limited only to Diveheart divers only. It severely limits our ability to dive wear and when we choose to. You are correct in that the dive instructor will read our different dive instruments. We are responsible for making sure our gear is properly fitted and working, going through the B W R A F checklist before diving, ect. If you have any additional questions on visually impaired diving, reach out to Andrew Meyer as well. He has done at least 10 open water dives as a totally blind diver. He is under the F F E S S M system in France which is vastly different than Divert. I have not done any open water dives myself as of yet however me and my wife who is also totally blind are going on a dive trip to Roatan in September for our first open water dives.

Do you only dive with Adaptive Dive buddies? Is it possible for you to dive with a regular DM or instructor? I imagine your depth would really depend on the depth your buddies can dive to, as well. I mean, they are the ones who are going to be watching your depth, tank pressure, rate of ascent, deco requirements, etc., no?

There really should be some way that you could dive with a PADI certified buddy who maybe is a wee more trained than the average bear but that shouldn't stop you from enjoying diving when and where you want. Of course, as a sighted person, I have no idea what limitations you dive with, if any, but I really want to learn.

 

[Scott G. Bonser]

Hello:
There is no way to dive outside of the Diveheart system. According to there own manual which I am quoting here.
This is from
Chapter 3, page 16





If you need special assistance from another diver to perform required scuba skills, then you will be required to dive with an Adaptive Dive Team consisting of two certified Adaptive Dive Buddies and your certification will be conditioned on diving with them.
I would love to dive with a PADI certified instructor with some communications as to different hand signals for communication ect. It isn't right that we are limited only to Diveheart divers only. It severely limits our ability to dive wear and when we choose to. You are correct in that the dive instructor will read our different dive instruments. We are responsible for making sure our gear is properly fitted and working, going through the B W R A F checklist before diving, ect. If you have any additional questions on visually impaired diving, reach out to Andrew Meyer as well. He has done at least 10 open water dives as a totally blind diver. He is under the F F E S S M system in France which is vastly different than Divert. I have not done any open water dives myself as of yet however me and my wife who is also totally blind are going on a dive trip to Roatan in September for our first open water dives.

I believe that the DiveHeart system is absolutely a fantastic program for any divers who want to experience the ‘thrill’ and ‘tranquility’ of SCUBA diving. Maybe I am just ‘Out There’ and I may catch a great deal of criticism from instructors or administrators of the DiveHeart System….but Here Goes. I am prepared for the critique.

How about a specialized SCUBA course and program BY DiveHeart which could successfully certify and recognize divers without limitations to be able to dive with DiveHeart certified divers. ….sounds difficult, however, there could be a way. It would require a great deal of input from many sources, primarily DiveHeart program personnel and DiveHeart certified divers. I am not advocating placing DiveHeart certified divers with just ‘any’ certified diver…at any level, but creating a program for ‘friends and perhaps ‘family’ to be able to dive together for enjoyment. It would be a ‘crossover‘ experience program that would prioritize the needs and requirements of the DiveHeart certified diver. ….sound like a ‘Pipe-Dream’? I believe it could be possible with a great deal of input, testing and time with disabled divers with ALL kinds of disabilities. Sightless divers and sighted divers. Full-face dive masks with communications such as the ‘Buddy Phone’ makes voice contact a reality. Instrumentation that can be used by all divers in a ‘diver buddy-group’ to contact and alert any diver in the group of potential hazards including air-time in a partner’s tank as it gets low or depths that are out-of-range and to ascend to planned dive depth. Many ideas, but needing a great deal of constructive input. There is potentially so much more to consider.

i am only blind in my left eye due to an unusual case of glaucoma. I am not sure how I would dive totally sightless for all occasions. I have gone on a number of ‘black-water’ dives with no visibility or light except at the surface even using artificial dive lights. This has mostly been to find historic artifacts in creeks and swamp runs in Eastern Virginia in my younger days. Yes, I am at ease and comfortable while diving in those situations but I can only imagine how much different it is to be totally blind.

Yes I can say that I would be disappointed to not be able to ‘make ( SCUBA exhaust ) bubbles’ somewhere even without my sight or other abilities I depend on. and I encourage other disabled and blind folks to explore SCUBA diving as it is most enjoyable for me, even at my advanced age ( ..now 64..) not old, just ‘limited’.

Yes, send the critiques and criticism that I rightfully deserve…but HERE is my challenge to all who read this posting. Let’s come up with some practical ideas that can allow both DiveHeart and non-DiveHeart divers to be able to share SCUBA experiences with each other. The size and ‘number’ of our ‘buddy-divers’ may need to increase as well as keeping the 2+ DiveHeart divers together for their diving experiences. A lot to think about..

…the ‘Silent World’ I know Not. I would be willing to ask a totally blind diver to relate their observations while diving as their senses are more sharply ‘tuned’ to many things ‘sighted‘ divers ( …pardon the expression..) tend to overlook.

Sincerely,
Scott G. Bonser, PADI DM since ‘84.
the……..
giantfroginthepool

…I also want to check out the references listed before and after this post as I really want to find out ‘More’ on this subject.

 

[John C. Ratliff]

I have done my share of zero/low visibility diving, and I can think of a few things that may limit a blind diver. One is current. I dive mostly in rivers right now, and a blind diver, even with two sighted DiveHeart Divers, could have problems in a river current, or in an ocean area with a fairly high current. This could cause problems in cave diving/wreck diving too, as in current there are back eddies, and places where a sighted diver becomes disoriented due to conflicting currents.

The other is cold water. Any water where the divers need to wear gloves because of cold, may inhibit a blind diver. Why? Well, think of it, as a blind diver probably uses touch a lot more than a sighted diver. This is not only for signaling, but also for contact with a line, with the bottom, etc.

Depth may be a factor, in that with increasing depth there is more decompression problems. But this may be alleviated in the future with the potential for “talking” computers (yes, this is a possibility). However, the depth probably should be limited by the potential for nitrogen narcosis, which can cause both sighted and blind divers problems.

SeaRat