20 PWDs join scuba therapy

• Source:http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2016/04/07/20-pwds-join-scuba-therapy-466678
• Thursday, April 7, 2016

(Sun.Star Cebu)

WHO wants to fly?

This was the one question posed by Diveheart founder Jim Elliott that had most persons with disabilities in Area Vocational Rehabilitation Center DSWD 7, all excited to gear up and dive.

More than 20 persons—blind, deaf/mute,orthopedic and neurologic disorders—have the opportunity to participate in the Diveheart Scuba experience program giving them their first taste of zero gravity with the Diveheart trained adaptive instructors and dive buddies last March 18 at the Cebu City Sports Complex swimming pool.

The event was organized by Diveheart, a non-profit organization based in suburban Chicago that offers adaptive scuba diving instruction and opportunities to children, adults and veterans with special needs.

Diveheart works with individuals with virtually any type of disability, including developmental disabilities, vision and hearing impairment, paraplegia, quadriplegia, amputations, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Diveheart has been working with individuals and organizations throughout the United States and other countries including Mexico, the Caribbean, Australia, China, Israel and England. The Philippines, specifically Cebu, was chosen as the first training site for Diveheart instructors and buddies in Southeast Asia due to the efforts of Cebuano dive instructors who volunteered with organization in Chicago area.

To establish the foundation of Diveheart’s message and its vision, the first batch of Cebuano dive instructors and buddies trained off the Mactan shores in the second weekend of March. The rigorous three-day training taught empathy and patience as well as building new skill sets to the instructors and dive buddies so that they are prepared to work with persons with special needs.

Diveheart was founded Elliott, an avid scuba diver and dive instructor trainer. He was inspired by his own blind daughter’s experience to establish her independence and later on volunteering as an instructor for blind downhill skiers.

He recognized the therapeutic value that the sport had on the skiers’ emotional and physical well-being.

“It is the can-do spirit that Diveheart hopes to instill in our participants, providing them not only with physical benefits, but also with self confidence and independence,” said Elliott.

Adaptive scuba diving is designed to help participants with disabilities escape gravity, mostly in swimming pools, where a PWD can be introduced to scuba therapy in a controlled and safe environment.

The benefits range from pain relief for those with chronic pain, the reduction of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for veterans and others with PTSD. Because pressure is a therapy for those with autism spectrum disorder, the ambient pressure underwater provides a calming environment that has lasting benefits for those with autism.

What Diveheart is finding out though, through joint research with US-based university medical centers, is that the first pool session is the most powerful, creating a paradigm shift for the participants.

Elliott and Tina Marie Hernandez, executive director of Diveheart, continued to send the message out by going on the radio talks and by holding an informational program about adaptive scuba training, research and business to the local medical, tourism and diving community, as well as with the Rotary Club of Port Center.