Max Starkloff (September 18, 1937,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

– December, 2010) was a

disability rights The disability rights movement is a global social movement that seeks to secure equal opportunities and equal rights for all people with disabilities. It is made up of organizations of disability activists, also known as disability advocat ...

activist. Starkloff became disabled in a car accident in 1959 and subsequently co-founded three organizations.

Personal life

In 1959, at the age of 21, Starkloff was involved in a car accident and became a

quadriplegic Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial or t ...

with limited use of his left arm. After the crash, his mother was told he would only live for four more days; however, he survived and was inspired to fight for

. From the ages of 26 to 38, he lived at St. Joseph's Hill infirmary, a nursing home in St. Louis. He married Colleen Kelly, a physical therapist at his nursing home, in 1975, and the couple adopted three children. In 2007, he fell off of his wheelchair and punctured a lung, forcing him to use a

ventilator A ventilator is a piece of medical technology that provides mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently. Ventilators ...

for the remainder of his life. He died from

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptoms ...

complications on December 27, 2010.

Disability rights

Starkloff was passionate about disability rights and was one of the leaders of the "

independent living movement Independent living (IL), as seen by its advocates, is a philosophy, a way of looking at society and disability, and a worldwide movement of disabled people working for Equal opportunity, equal opportunities, self-determination, and self-respect. ...

," a grassroots movement meant to inspire young people with disabilities to take control of their own care. The Max Starkloff Lifetime Achievement Award from the

National Council on Independent Living The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) is an American nonprofit organization focused on disability rights advocacy. It is a membership organization of centers for independent living that provide services, advocacy, and referrals to peop ...

was named after him. In 1970, while living in a nursing home, Starkloff founded Paraquad. The goal of the company was to help people with disabilities live independently. One year later, in 1971, he began the St. Louis chapter of the National Paraplegia Foundation. He continued to fight for disability rights and was able to convince St. Louis officials to install curb cuts on the sidewalks of the city. He would often say: "I'm not 'confined' to a wheelchair. I'm confined to what society tells me I'm confined to." In 1983, he co-founded the American National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) with

Marca Bristo Marca Bristo (June 23, 1953 – September 8, 2019) was an American disability rights activist. Life and career Bristo was born Marcia Lynn Bristo on June 23, 1953, in Albany, New York, and was raised on a family farm in Castleton-on-Hudson, Ne ...

and

Charlie Carr Charles Carbitt Carr (December 27, 1875 – November 25, 1932) was an American baseball first baseman and manager. He played professional baseball from 1894 to 1919, including seven years in Major League Baseball with the Washington Senators (18 ...

. He fought for the passage of the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ...

, which passed in 1990. Starkloff sought to make the world more accessible for the disabled; in addition to the city sidewalks, he was also involved in making the St. Louis Zoo create accessible facilities. In 2003, he and his wife Colleen began the Starkloff Disability Institute in downtown St. Louis, which sought to work with employers in hiring disabled people. He won a President's Distinguished Service Award in 1991, and was awarded a star on the

St. Louis Walk of Fame The St. Louis Walk of Fame honors notable people from St. Louis, Missouri, who made contributions to the culture of the United States. All inductees were either born in the Greater St. Louis area or spent their formative or creative years ther ...

. He co-founded three organizations:Entry text
from star on St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Paraquad
an independent living center, in 1970, then one of the first ten such federally funded centers; * th
National Council on Independent Living
in 1983 (with

and Charlie Carr);
Starkloff Disability Institute
co-founded with Colleen, his wife, in 2003.

References

External links

on the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starkloff, Max 1937 births 2010 deaths Activists from St. Louis American disability rights activists