In 1995, a woman by the name of Faye Meloncon, a counselor at the Louisiana School for the Deaf had an idea and a vision to invite school counselors from various schools in the south to meet and discuss the idea of setting up a counseling organization. In December of that year, 13 counselors gathered together and established the Southern Counselors for the Deaf Association (SCDA). This collaboration began as a way for counselors and other mental health professionals working with deaf children to get together, share experiences, and learn from each other. The original states that formed SCDA were LA, MS, AR, TX, AL, GA, FL, SC, NC, KY, TN, VA, and WV. Soon after, MO and OK
In 2005, the membership voted to become a national organization (recognizing states outside of the southern boundary), thus the name change to National Counselors of the Deaf Association.
There has been a couple times since the start of SCDA/NCDA that we have been asked to be a subsidiary of a bigger organization, but the membership has voted to remain independent.
Historically SCDA/NCDA had met on a yearly basis until 2007 and then conferences started to become biannual.
Years/Schools for the Deaf:
- 1996 Louisiana
- 1997 Arkansas
- 1998 Kentucky
- 1999 Georgia
- 2000 Texas
- 2001 South Carolina
- 2002 Mississippi
- 2003 Florida
- 2004 Missouri
- 2005 Louisiana
- 2006 Kentucky
- 2007 Sabbatical
- 2008 Gallaudet
- 2010 Kansas
- 2012 New Mexico
- 2014 Washington
- 2016 Minnesota/Metro Deaf School