The History of Little People of America

View the LPA Bylaws

Little People of America was formed in 1957 by entertainer Billy Barty. The first national "convention" was in Reno, Nevada, with 21 people attending from nine states. Soon a membership list was compiled of more than 200 people. The United States was divided into fourteen geographic areas known as districts. By the 1978 National "Convention" there were over 500 people in attendance and our mailing roster included more than 3,000 families. LPA quickly became associated with leaders in the field of genetics, orthopaedics, and neurology from across the country and around the world. These long-standing relationships with health professionals evolved into the formation of the LPA Medical Advisory Board. Today, the Medical Advisory Board continues to be a vital resource to the LPA membership.

LPA continued to grow and the local support groups known as chapters were chartered by the Board of Directors. Phoenix, Arizona was the first chapter. Today, chapters provide a close personal relationship with dwarfs, their families, and the organization.

LPA Milestones

• Vocational/educational scholarships have been available since 1960. Many LPs have been supported to reach their educational goals
• In 1961, LPA began assisting individuals wishing to adopt dwarf children
• The general membership participated in voting for the first time in 1962
• In 1962, LPA's first national newsletter was published
• The first International LPA Conference was held in Georgetown, Maryland, in 1982, with over 150 people in attendance from almost ten countries
• In 1985, the LPA National Convention was held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to reach out to the dwarfs in our neighboring country
• In 1986, LPA became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and changed the name of conventions to conferences
• The Dwarf Athletic Association of America (DAAA) held its first National Games in conjunction with the LPA National Conference in 1986
• The 1990s have brought advances in modern genetics and the discovery of many genes associated with several types of dwarfism, making prenatal testing for dwarfism possible
• National Conference attendance broke the 1,500 mark in 2004

Taken from the LPA Officer Handbook