In the consult, we discuss cases involvingley, retired FBI agent and profiler.

And today we're going to explore autism, behavior, and law enforcement. And this conversation was inspired in part by recent developments in the Idaho student murders case where the defendant's diagnosis of autism was raised during the legal

proceedings. And it was a reminder to me of how important it is to understand what these

diagnoses actually mean, and particularly in the context of behavior, violent behavior, and the criminal justice system.

And we're not going to talk necessarily specifically about the Idaho four murders case,

but just build upon the ideas that was brought up in that particular case.

It just got me to thinking.

And so to help me to do this, I am joined by someone I hold

in the highest regard, both personally and professionally. Her name is Rita Curley. Welcome, Rita.

Thank you for having me. So Rita is a former police officer and currently serves as an investigator in the Equal Opportunity Office at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

So after I retired from the FBI, I went to UMass Amherst to work in the Equal Opportunity Office.

And Rita and I worked together and then I transitioned full time to the podcast.

But during that time of working with Rita,

I came to deeply admire her and her intuition,

her compassion and her toughness as an investigator.

And we also became good friends, full disclosure. So I am just

thrilled that she would join me today to talk about this because not only does she have significant

experience in investigation, she also has a daughter with autism and she teaches law enforcement

officers how to recognize and respond appropriately to individuals who may be neurodivergent.

And her perspective, in my opinion, as a parent, a former police officer, an investigator, and as an educator,

is one that I greatly value.

So that's my introduction to my dear friend Rita.

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