IAHD

The International Association of Handicapped Divers, the IAHD, is an association whose aim is to promote, develop and conduct programs for the training of people with a disability in scuba diving. Since it's began in 1993 the IAHD has held many professional and nonprofessional programs at locations all around the world.

The IAHD is a non profit foundation and all the people on the board are volunteers. There are also volunteers in regions around the world. Physical exercise helps people improve their health both physically and mentally. A person with a disability gets these benefits as well as increased social activity by taking up an activity like scuba diving. The risks in training a disabled person in diving are no higher than for able bodied people.

Instructors may have to alter some of the techniques and some equipment may also need changing to meet the individual's need. In some cases extra pool and / or open water training may be needed. In some extreme cases even individual lessons may be needed. IAHD believes that people with a disability should be in a regular class at some point in their training. Being involved with activities like scuba diving may even result in giving a person with a disability a renewed interest in life and provide positive and lasting benefits.

Other websites

• The IAHD official website [1]