A TEENAGE boy with autism will be the first pupil at his school to be allowed to take an assistance dog into exams.

Sixteen-year-old Joel Sayer was diagnosed with autism when he was seven, and also has ADHD, speech, language and sensory impairment, and a sleep disorder.

He attends Carterton Community College and plans to sit his GCSE exams in May, having already sat mock exams with labrador Caddie by his side.

Joel sits in a separate room for exams and has a scribe and reader with him.

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A stop watch is used if he needs time out to pace or stroke Caddie to calm himself.

His mum, Janet Sayer, said: “This is the first time the school has allowed a pupil to have an assistance dog with them during exams.

“Having Caddie there really helps him, although he stills finds exams really hard and says his brain ‘doesn’t work’ when he’s in them.

“We hope he will be able to achieve the results he needs with Caddie’s help, and we are extremely grateful to the school for being so understanding and allowing this to happen.”

Joel got Caddie from the charity Dogs for Good eight years ago.

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He was mute until he was five and only communicated when he felt safe.

Joel struggled with everyday activities such as sitting at the dinner table and brushing his teeth.

He often ran away and hid, and one day ran into the road in front of a car, and narrowly missed being run over.

This proved to be the turning point for his parents.

They had tried a variety of methods and treatments including occupational, speech and language therapy, as well as autism sessions to reach out to Joel.

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Joel’s paediatrician told them about Dogs for Good and suggested this may help Joel.

Mrs Sayer said: “Joel was trapped in his own world because our world scared him.

“He was completely non-verbal, couldn’t go outside and he’d often run away and scream.

“We didn’t know how to connect with him and get inside his head.

“The day he nearly got knocked down by a car was the last straw, we knew we had to do something different.”

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Caddie transformed the family’s life.

Within just 20 minutes of meeting Caddie, Joel was outside playing with a ball in the garden with him.

Amazingly, this was also the first time Joel ever smiled.

Mrs Sayer said: “It was so overwhelming to see Joel so happy that we both burst into tears.”

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Caddie had an instant effect on Joel, who no longer minded cleaning his teeth and mealtimes became easier as Caddie sits next to Joel at the table.

Mrs Sayer continued: “Caddie senses when Joel is stressed and takes a toy to him, he catches Joel’s mood before it escalates.

“When Joel’s had a bad day at school, they lie on the floor together until he feels better.”