Aspie firefighter teaches peers autism awareness

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When Courtney Mills hops into the fire truck, she brings a different perspective along for the ride.

The 21-year-old volunteer firefighter from Nova Scotia has Asperger syndrome, a developmental disorder on the high-functioning end of the autism spectrum that may be characterized by a difficulty with social interactions.

It's a fact Mills gladly shares, with the hope of educating others.

"As first responders, some of them don't know how to handle or deal with us and they kind of come off rude," said Mills.

My main tip is to search high and low. In our fire training, we're basically taught how to look low, but people with autism go where they're comfortable with, and sometimes they go up in really high spots which is abnormal for us to search," she said.

"You have to approach the situation differently. They are flight risks and known to wander.

Mills adds that many people with autism don't like human contact or they're non-verbal. She has developed a kit that includes pictures to help first responders communicate with people when they're in distress.

"You can point to which part on the body and it has the pain scale for them," she said.

Another tip from Mills is to always search water sources when an autistic person goes missing.

Drowning is the number 1 cause of accidental death among people with autism, according to Autism Nova Scotia.

In her presentations, Mills cites the tragic case of James Delorey, a seven-year-old boy with autism who died in 2009. Delorey, who was non-verbal, died from hypothermia after he had been missing for two days in South Bar, N.S.

Although Autism Nova Scotia also educates first responders, executive director Cynthia Carroll says Mills elevates the message to another level.

"To have Courtney do this as a first voice, but also use her experience as a volunteer firefighter and talk about the importance of this is unbelievable," she said.

"It's really invaluable."