Christine Vester: Humanity Over Handcuffs: Protecting Autistic Lives in Legal Battles

Tony Mantor: Why Not Me ?

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Christine Vester shares her mission with Humanity Over Handcuffs, a national advocacy movement protecting autistic individuals from being criminalized by the justice system.

Her organization supports families, educates legal professionals, and works toward reforming a system that often treats neurological differences as criminal behavior.

• Autistic behaviors like lack of eye contact, shutdowns, and sensory overload often misinterpreted by police as aggression or defiance
• Families seeking help unexpectedly find themselves battling a legal system unprepared to understand autism
• Courts routinely fail to consider autism as a mitigating factor, treating autistic individuals like typical defendants
• Prison environments create traumatic sensory overload for autistic individuals, who may face targeting by other inmates
• Incarceration carries long-lasting consequences, creating barriers to housing, employment, and community reintegration
• Humanity Over Handcuffs is developing resources connecting families with attorneys, mental health professionals, and support systems
• Change requires judges, attorneys, legislators, and CIT trainers working together to create more compassionate approaches

You're not alone and not powerless.

Our children are not broken, autism is not a crime, and together we can show what justice should really look like—humanity first.

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intro/outro music bed written by T. Wild
Why Not Me the World music published by Mantor Music (BMI)

The content on Why Not Me: Embracing Autism amd Mental Health Worldwide, including discussions on mental health, autism, and related topics, is provided for informational and entertainment purposes only.

The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not reflect those of the podcast, its hosts, or affiliates.

Why Not Me is not a medical or mental health professional and does not endorse or verify the accuracy, efficacy, safety of any treatments, programs, or advice discussed.

Listeners should consult qualified healthcare professionals, such as licensed therapists, psychologists, or physicians, before making decisions about mental health or autism- related care.

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Kapitel

1. Welcome to Why Not Me? The World (00:00:00)

2. Introducing Humanity Over Handcuffs (00:01:31)

3. Police Response to Autism Crisis (00:02:43)

4. Navigating the Legal System Challenges (00:05:44)

5. Prison's Impact on Autistic Individuals (00:09:31)

6. Resources and Call for Compassionate Reform (00:12:22)