ABOUT IAHD Adriatic

About IAHD Adriatic

The activities began in 2002 with three basic programs. Our main goal was full participation and integration for disabled people in the field which was considered reserved only for non disabled individuals as unfit for disabled people. With them we challenged the prejudices about what the disabled people should and can do. Project takes into account the specific geographical and socio-economic situation of the wider Adriatic region.
 
The program “Diving as a part of rehabilitation” is created for individuals which in the rehabilitation process faces reorganization of their abilities and also their self perception. It also stimulates better acceptance of others not only medical activities that take part in the rehabilitation process and improves participant’s condition. Those individuals can not become certified divers and the program should be organized only in confined water. We are using our own standards, which were developed trough systematic work in more than four years.
 
The program “Diving trough recreation” is carried out as organized individual approach education for disabled people who want to become certified recreational divers and have equal rights in the field of recreational diving. It is adapted to the specific needs of each disabled diver. We are using our own standards which are based on C.M.A.S. minimum requirements and recommendations for able bodied.
The diving process of disabled divers is monitored and the collected data are analyzed to improve safety and education process for future disabled divers.
 
In May 2006 Slovenia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina formed International Societies Association IAHD Adriatic which cooperates with diving and handicapped institutions in the wider Adriatic region. Through joint actions (International Symposiums, Diving Camps and Scientific work) all co-founders work with individuals who have a wide variety of handicaps.
IAHD Adriatic is member of IAHD International Association for Handicapped Divers from Holland and member of C.M.A.S. Technical committee.
 
Significant achievements
In nearly seven years our voluntary instructors achieved significant progress in diving for people in mentioned programs.
- We trained more than thirty recreational divers with SCI. This moment we have a group of twelve individuals with SCI that they are mobile and capable to dive like all able bodied divers from basic to master category.
- More than two hundred recreational divers with different disabilities (amputees, diabetes, etc.) are involved in all programs.
- We organized diving camps for recreational divers with disabilities from the Adriatic region in conditions that nobody did it before.
- We organized the 1^st scientific diving camp for recreational divers with SCI and large amputations where we have been measuring venous gas bubble formation and decompression risk after scuba diving in persons with chronic spinal cord injury which is the first known project in the world.
- We organized seven International Diving Symposiums “Diving AST” (Apnea, Scuba & Tech diving) for divers and divers with special needs. The symposium became the biggest event in this part of Europe where recreational divers can update their current diving practices, new trends in recreational diving and related science.
- We organized two International Festival of Underwater Film and Video “Sprehodi pod morjem”.
- For the last five years we are working with mentally disturbed individuals through the program “Diving as a part of rehabilitation” and we achieved excellent results through unique experimental work.
- After complete training divers with SCI became totally independent and equal to all recreational divers.
- We became the 1^st world diving association for handicapped divers which also develops its own programs through scientific work in the field of diving for people with special needs.
- We are the leading world organization for handicapped divers where disabled divers can equally run training and practice for people with disabilities and not vice versa like other “leading” handicapped diving associations.