For St. Louisans who live with a disability, the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act 35 years ago is more than a civil rights milestone. The ADA made it possible for them to enjoy ordinary childhood experiences, thrive in their chosen professions and contribute positively to their communities.
They also benefit from disability advocacy work in St. Louis that long preceded the ADA. The city was the first in the country to have public buses equipped with lifts, and it was among the first to put curb cuts in sidewalks. St. Louisans Max Starkloff and Colleen Starkloff were pivotal in the movement for independent living.
Even with these victories, people who live with disabilities say work remains to be done to make the world more equitable for all.
On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, guests Lori Becker, CEO of the Starkloff Disability Institute; Raven McFadden, board chair of FestAbility and court clerk for the City of St. Louis; and Seyoon Choi, vocational rehabilitation counselor for Missouri Rehabilitation Services for the Blind, shared personal accounts about growing up in the St. Louis area and how they’ve understood disability culture at different points in their lives.
The roundtable discussion covered structural challenges, like McFadden’s apartment. While it has wide doorways, the kitchen isn’t accessible with her power chair.
“I like to cook and entertain, and I'm not able to cook in my house because my kitchen is not designed for me to actually function in it,” she said.
The panelists also discussed microaggressions that people outside the disability community may not recognize as such. Choi, who lives with blindness due to a rare genetic mutation, has faced an Uber driver who told him he couldn’t bring his service dog in the car. He’s also run into situations on the bus that made him feel uncomfortable.
“A passenger might suddenly grab your elbow without consent, and sure, they may have very good intentions at heart, but what does that convey about your ability to speak up and ask for help, or if you even need that help to begin with?” he said.
For Becker, who lives with a rare form of visual impairment, the increased adoption of audio description for the blind and visually impaired has been transformative at events like City SC soccer games and performances at the Fabulous Fox.
“The first time that I was able to use audio description at a play, it was life changing,” she said. “It was the Lion King, and so can you imagine all the visuals and how beautiful the characters and the scenery were. … They had someone describing what the colors were and the movements on stage. It just brings it to life. I get to experience it so much more fully.”
Audio descriptions, ASL interpretation and sensory kits not only serve people who have limited vision or hearing, or are neurodiverse, Becker added, they contribute to economic growth.
“We have incredible buying power as a community because it's not just me that is going to these plays and baseball games — it's me and all my friends,” she said. “If I can't enjoy it, I'm not going to go, and they're not going to come with me.”
To hear the full conversation, including the guests’ reflections on self image, disability advocacy, and changes we can make now to positively affect future generations, listen to St. Louis on the Air on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and YouTube, or click the play button below.
“St. Louis on the Air” brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by Miya Norfleet, Emily Woodbury, Danny Wicentowski, Elaine Cha and Alex Heuer. Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is Aaron Doerr.
