One high-tech communication device, plus one generous donation equals one happy local girl | Parents & kids

Christmas came a little early for one Maple Falls family today.

Nine-year-old Madrona Hartford was given a gift most people take for granted--the ability to speak.

Madrona has Cerebral Palsy and is essentially non-verbal, her mother, Chris Hartford said. The only way for her to verbally communicate with those around her, is through the assistance of an eye-tracking communication device, like the Tobii ATI device gifted to her today from a family in the Olympia area.

And the first words Madrona made it say: “Thank you for giving me a voice. “

“This is the cool part of the job,” said Tobii ATI representative Kristine Bengen. “Being able to hear people, like little kids, say ‘I love you’ to their mom for the first time.”

The machine’s former owner was a man who had the debilitating disease ALS. When he passed away, his wife made the decision to donate the $16,000 computer to a family who would benefit from it, and she picked Madrona.

“It fills up my heart,” said Chris Hartford of the generosity of the woman. “And it helps me get through the parts that are hard about being the parent of a child with a disability.”

The device works by tracking the movement of Madrona’s pupils, Bengen said, allowing her to use pre-programmed phrases and emotions as well as to type things on her own, like her name.

Despite her parent’s predilection to call her Maddy, she's decided she wants to go by her given name of Madrona, and so she begins to enter that into the machine.

“It has everything to do with Maddy,” her dad, Ryan, said. “For us, we already know who Maddy is. The issue is, humanity hasn’t had the nine years of training that we have.”

This isn’t Madrona’s first such-device, her parents said. Her first voice came in the form of Tobii's first generation device--a small carry-on luggage-sized machine that wasn't fast enough to keep up with everything Madrona had to say.

So when the new version came out, the family began to explore their options for Madrona. At first, Chris said, they were told that Madrona wouldn't have the physical ability to use the machine, and so some doctors wouldn't recommend it for her.

But within twenty seconds of the new device being turned on and set up in front of her, Madrona was proving her skeptics wrong, working through the electronic pages faster Bengen could even show them to her.

"Maddy is so bright, so smart, she has a great sense of humor, and she wants to show off to the world, just like any other young girl," Chris said. "She'll be able to do that.”

Like any kid, Madrona wants to learn, excel, and face her fears, Ryan said. And like any kid she wants to be able to express herself, talk with her friends, and tell jokes in class.

And like any young girl, she’s also taken a little liking to Justin Bieber, one day hoping to attend a concert, her mother said.

Because of the generosity of others, and her sheer will to communicate with the world, nothing is out of the picture for her.

So if you’re out there Biebs, take note: Madrona Hartford’s ready for you.