Scuba Diving Instructor Who is Deaf Offers Lessons Using ASL In the Spotlight Thomas Koch Clearwater, FL – Thomas Koch grew up in Houston, TX, and with most of his family members working for NASA at the Johnson Space Center, he dreamed of following in their footsteps and traveling into space. That is, until he took a trip to the Sonny Carter Training Facility and watched the divers training the astronauts underwater. Then and there his career goal changed to become an Open Water Scuba Instructor. And not just an ordinary scuba instructor - Thomas dreamed of teaching other people who are deaf how to scuba dive. Yes, Thomas is deaf, and when he was taking his early scuba lessons, he communicated with paper and pen (actually a slate). He knew that it would be much easier and less stressful to have someone who uses American Sign Language (ASL) communicate with the student divers who are deaf. Twenty years later, and with a little help from Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), he got his wish. Thomas never lost sight of his dream and is now the owner of Aqua Hands, a diving school that offers instructors who are fluent in ASL to train students who are deaf. Thomas first came to VR in 2010 where he met VR Counselor Lori Fuller. VR provided interpreting services so he could complete his course work to become an Open Water Scuba Instructor. Lori explains that in the early days, it was a real challenge to find an interpreter who was also a scuba diver to work with Thomas. “The interpreter has to be in the water with him to interpret for him so it was hard to find someone who could do both.” When his training was completed, he started Aqua Hands, based at Rainbow Reef Dive Center in Key Largo. He then began touring the country, teaching scuba classes to people who are deaf as well, as those who are not. After 38 AmeriDisability July/August 2017
20314EM
To see the actual publication please follow the link above