For children from 8 to 12 years old who want to follow a scuba course, there are the IAHD youth courses.

The primary IAHD courses are entry-level courses that have been developed specifically for people with physical or mental disabilities who have little or no experience in the underwater world. Every course is adapted for each individual trainee to meet their level of knowledge of dive theory and their specific physical abilities.

The courses that IAHD provide are not limited to courses specifically for people with disabilities and related Instructor courses.

There are also courses for non-diver family members and friends. In addition, courses are available to teach divers how to assist and escort divers with disabilities.

Depending on the course you will learn the techniques to assist a diver with a disability in order to make the dive experience safe and enjoyable.

The recreational specialty programs of IAHD are developed to gain more advanced understanding in a specific diving activity.

During a recreational specialty program normal compressed air is used as a breathing gas and a direct ascent to the surface is always possible.

IAHD dive courses for divers with disabilities basically have the same content as comparable courses for divers without a disability. However, the Instructor needs to adapt his or her methods in order to give the trainee the best opportunity to learn the required theory and skills.

The additional techniques that are required to achieve this are taught during the IAHD instructor courses. You also experience how it is to have to live with a disability, so that you can better understand the challenges that your trainees face.

During these courses you learn about the types of physical and mental disabilities that you may come across, what special attention is required for specific disabilities, how you can integrate an IAHD course with a specific disability and how to use the IAHD certification procedures.

IAHD also offers special cross-over courses for diving professionals. By following these courses, Dive Leaders, Assistant Instructors and Instructors from recognized diving organizations can gain IAHD Instructor level certification, for accompanying and/or training divers with disabilities.

This contains all IAHD instructor recreational specialty courses which do not belong to the primary instructor courses.

During an instructor specialty course you will learn more advanced theory and skills that are required in order to run a specific IAHD diver recreational specialty course in a safe and responsible manner.

Because the emphasis is on training, the instructor-candidate must be already in possession of the relevant specialty certification.