WARRENSBURG – In a world filled with all sorts of different people, sometimes we fail to see those differences, but when we do, it can amaze you.

Cohen Moos, 12, a 6th grader at Warrensburg Elementary School, happens to be a child with autism. At 6 a.m. Friday morning, his day got off to a rough start.

“I was asleep in bed and I suddenly smelled smoke and then the furnace was on fire,” he recalled.

Cohen ran quickly to alert his mother.

“I heard the furnace come on but didn’t really think anything of it,” said Melissa Moos, Cohen’s mom. “Actually I did. I was like that’s weird, it’s warm out, why did the furnace come on?”

Whatever the reason, the house quickly filled with thick, black smoke.

“I wasn’t afraid at all,” Cohen said. “I’m quite the little hero.”

He’s a hero who knew right away to make sure everyone in the house was awake.

“I’m super proud of him,” Melissa said. “He doesn’t realize (people see him differently). He sees the world in Cohen’s world. That’s what makes him special.”

“If I’m looking after my mom, I think I’m going to be the biggest hero ever,” Cohen said.

“We get each other,” Melissa said. “The world doesn’t get him, but we get each other for sure.”

“It’ll come a time when my powers will be needed,” Cohen said.

Melissa says she realizes people have a difficult time understanding how children with autism see the world. She wants her son’s heroics to serve as a reminder that they see the world just fine.