The American Society of Deaf Children grew out of the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf (CAID). At a 1965 meeting of CAID in Flint, Michigan, Roy Holcomb proposed the creation of a Parent Section in the organization to encourage and support parental involvement in deaf children’s education. CAID’s surveys showed them there was a demand for such an organization, and in 1967 CAID agreed to fund the creation of the parents’ group.

The Parent Section had its first convention in Berkeley, California, in 1969, drawing parents of the deaf from 16 states, and began publishing its newsletter in the same year. The next year, the Parent Section’s temporary executive board met in Santa Fe to create plans for a permanent national organization and schedule a second convention for Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1971.

At the 1971 convention, the Parent Section elected its permanent board, established bylaws, and changed its name to the International Association of Parents of the Deaf, or IAPD. Lee Katz was elected as first president and executive director, initially on a part-time basis and then full-time after the IAPD moved into offices in the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) headquarters.

IAPD provided parents of deaf children with useful publications and information, including their bimonthly newsletter, The Endeavor. The organization also held workshops and seminars for the benefit of parents and educators of the deaf. From its earliest existence, IAPD supported and encouraged the use of ASL and Total Communication in schools and between parents and children. IAPD advocated politically for the interests of deaf children and their parents, for instance helping to organize a successful override of the Presidential veto of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974. By 1975, IAPD had almost 7,000 members divided among 32 affiliate groups countrywide and was recognized as the leading voice for parents of the deaf.

However, during the late 1970s, IAPD began to struggle financially, despite support from the NAD and other organizations. IAPD’s main source of income, sales of publications, did not keep pace with the expansion of the services they provided. These financial difficulties would continue through the 1980s; at some points, IAPD could only afford one full-time employee. A trust fund was created in 1981 and professional fundraisers were brought into the organization during the 1980s to help alleviate this problem.

At the ninth biennial convention in 1984, the IAPD changed its name to the American Society for Deaf Children. The ASDC’s financial problems came to a head in the years 1989-1990 with the resignation of the executive director and president. Left without leadership, ASDC was put under the direction of a Crisis Committee that restructured the organization to strengthen it and enable it to continue its mission. Today, ASDC is once again a leading organization helping to provide support for deaf children and their parents and guardians through education, information, and public relations.