Fraser Bathgate, DDI president, was invited by AAATE - Association for the Advancement of Assistive Technology in Europe for the 12th Conference that took place in the Hotel Tivoli Marina in Vilamoura, Portugal, last September. Fraser presented a revolutionary approach to rehabilitation through Scuba Diving.

He shared with the public (more than 500 participants) some evidences that he is being collecting over the years regarding the benefits of scuba diving for the rehabilitation of people with disabilities. He also spoke about the recent research projects he has been involved regarding rehabilitation through scuba diving. Scuba diving as turn into a new reality in therapy and DDI is growing, worldwide, sharing this concept.

Adapted Diving Demonstration:

Following the Welcome Cocktail, later in the day, Fraser Bathgate gave his support to the portuguese DDI team that conducted an adapted diving demonstration involving people with different disabilities - Down Syndrom, Bifid Spine and Mental Challenge - in the hotel pool. The demonstration was supported by the DDI Dive Centre UDIVING with the supervision of Paulo Guerreiro, DDI Portugal representative. It is always surprising to watch how the barriers under the water seems to disappear. The swimming pool was surrounded by lecturers that applauded DDI work and asked lots of questions about scuba diving with disabled people. 

Fraser Bathgate, Paulo Guerreiro and  Vanda Pinto tried to answer to everybody. Most of all this was an important opportunity to show DDI's work in behalf of wellbeing, social inclusion and rehabilitation.