alana nichols adaptive support diver course

Do you want to learn how to best support a dive buddy who has a physical or mental challenge? The PADI® Adaptive Support Diver course will increase your awareness of divers’ varying abilities, and explores adaptive techniques to apply while diving or freediving with a buddy with a disability.

Divers who have their Open Water Diver or Freediver certification (and at least 15 years old) and have completed the EFR Primary and Secondary Care course within 24 months are eligible to take the PADI Adaptive Support Diver course. It is also recommended that you complete the PADI Peak Performance Buoyancy course beforehand so that you have better awareness of trim.

Now on the other hand, if you’re a PADI Professional and want to become more aware of individual considerations when working with people who have physical or mental challenges, you’ll want to take the Adaptive Techniques course.

PADI Professionals have a long and successful history of working with divers with disabilities. PADI’s approach to diver education is (and always has been) inclusive: Everyone who meets a course’s prerequisites is welcome to enroll. The PADI Adaptive Techniques Specialty course builds on that foundation by enhancing the training PADI Professionals receive, and preparing them for student-centered and prescriptive approaches when adapting techniques to meet diver needs.

Locate a PADI Dive Shop near you to enroll in the PADI Adaptive Support Diver or Adaptive Techniques course.