NAUI Advanced Scuba Diver can run the gamut between awesome and abysmal, depending on the instructor. When I first started teaching, I read through the ASD book and thought to myself "I can't charge somebody money for that ... with a couple exceptions it's a review of the basic course material" ... and those couple exceptions left out some things that I felt were important for my students to know.
But unlike some agencies, NAUI operates on a "freedom to teach" philosophy that allows the instructor to add material. I ended up writing my own, with help from another NAUI instructor, that covered the core skills I felt someone with an ASD card should have ... dive planning, buddy skills, gas management, navigation, low vis diving, deep diving, S&R. While I did give my students the NAUI book with instructions to read it for those few nuggets I felt it contained, my handbook was designed specifically for diving in our local conditions ... which typically require a lot of planning, awareness, good buddy techniques, and navigation skills.
Most NAUI instructors I know locally take some degree of this approach ... augmenting the standard course materials with both coursework and practical drills that focus on the skills they feel need to be emphasized for competent local diving.
My advice would be to ask your instructor what, besides the standard course content, they teach in the class ... and why. The answers they provide should give you some clues as to what to expect from the class ...
... Bob (Grateful Diver)
