Gobe Divers is proud to be Colorado's only SSI Adapted Scuba Center.

We have three dive leaders trained and certified to teach SSI's Adapted Scuba Course.

SSI ADAPTED SCUBA COURSE

The SSI Adapted Scuba Course is designed to provide diver training and certification for people with physical disabilities, and the adapted course is the same SSI Open Water Diver Course with additional training depending upon level of impairment. The bottom line is a common goal to produce safe, competent, confident divers.

Depending upon the extent to which their physical disabilities affect performance, a student with disabilities may qualify as an SSI Open Water Diver, an SSI Adapted Diver or as an SSI Escorted Diver. The Adapted Scuba Course is based upon the inclusive training concept, which encourages students with disabilities to learn to scuba dive together with their able-bodied friends or relatives. Inclusive training creates a more enjoyable learning environment, and permits able-bodied students to acquire the necessary skills, knowledge and confidence to become natural diving companions to divers with disabilities.

IMPLICATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

Divers with mild physical or sensory impairments who are able to meet standard SSI certification requirements can qualify for the SSI Open Water Scuba Diver certification. These individuals have disabilities that do not greatly restrict their physical independence or mobility. As divers, their performance would be close to or indistinguishable from the norm for able-bodied divers. Divers in this category might include single, below the knee or below the elbow amputees, people who are profoundly hard-of-hearing, people with minor congenital abnormalities, polio survivors with mild residual paralysis in a limb, or people with very mild forms of cerebral palsy. These divers do not require unusual physical assistance or support in the water, and can safely dive with another certified diver.

Divers with more significant mobility or visual impairments can qualify for SSI Adapted Diver certification. These individuals may have disabilities that restrict their mobility, coordination or vision. As divers, they would be able to independently assemble their scuba gear and get safely into the water with little or no assistance. People qualifying for Adapted Diver certification might include paraplegics with low level spinal cord injuries, double above-the-knee amputees, contra-lateral arm and leg amputees, polio survivors with severe residual paralysis in the lower extremities, people with stable forms of mild multiple sclerosis and people with mild forms of cerebral palsy that do not affect muscle coordination in the arms, upper torso and face.

Some people with severe mobility or visual impairments (blindness) may qualify for SSI Escorted Diver certification. Candidates for this diver classification often have mobility impairments due to high-level spinal cord injuries. These people may require assistance in dressing, transferring from wheelchairs, preparing scuba equipment, making entries, controlling buoyancy, removing and extracting equipment and exiting the water. Many divers qualifying for the SSI Escorted Diver certification will be healthy, athletic individuals who have good exercise tolerance and exceptional motivation. These individuals are usually calm in the water, and often find innovative ways to perform the required skills.

MEDICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Before a student is allowed to participate in scuba training, unconditional medical authorization must be provided in writing. The medical form is to be signed by a licensed medical practitioner who is familiar with the student's medical history, and the standard RSTC Medical Statement and Guidelines for the Recreational Scuba Diver's Physical Examination must be used. Disabled or not, any person with severe risk conditions is not eligible to participate in SSI scuba courses.