Richard Devylder dies at 46; longtime disability rights activist

Disability rights activist Richard Devylder, center, smiles as Amtrak official Gary Talbot cuts a ceremonial ribbon at the unveiling of a new boarding platform at a station in Ann Arbor, Mich. (Melanie Maxwell / Ann Arbor News)Disability rights activist Richard Devylder, who was born without arms or legs, knew that people meeting with him for the first time were likely to be a bit uncomfortable.

So he used it.

"It works to my advantage, my disability," Devylder said in a 2000 interview with The Times. "It helps people, but it puts them off guard too. It disarms them if they are hostile.

"I use it any way I can."

Devylder, 46, who worked at the U.S. Department of Transportation and several state…