Andrea Johnson/MDN Madison Decoteau and other Miss Amazing queens are pictured on a parade float during the North Dakota State Parade in July.

BELCOURT – Madison Clarise Decoteau, 11, is like a lot of kids from North Dakota.

She lives in Belcourt with her parents, CJ Decoteau and Maggie Martin, her older brother Trentin, and two dogs and four fish and attends Ojibwe Indian School.

She loves to sing and to dance and to play sports.

But Madison also lives with a rare disability called septo-optic dysplasia, which can cause learning and vision difficulties, and wants to show the world all how amazing she and other kids with disabilities can be.

In August she represented North Dakota in the preteen category at the national Miss Amazing Pageant, a pageant that showcases the talents of women and girls with disabilities, in Nashville, Tenn. She was named the North Dakota Preteen Miss Amazing 2021 title at the state pageant in May at Minot State University. She was one of more than a dozen queens who took part in the pageant experience, each competing in different divisions.

“I decided to try ND Miss Amazing because I just wanted to have a fun day with some other girls and it turned into so much more,” she told the pageant organizers. “I’ve made so many friends along the way!”

She enjoyed spending time with her new friends and, though she didn’t win the national title, she also has had great experiences like riding in the North Dakota State Parade in Minot with her new friends and enjoyed herself in Nashville.

Even before she won the pageant title she had triumphed over some long odds.

“In her case, she doesn’t have complete vision loss,” said her mother. “Every time we would go to Dr. Kindy at Trinity, her pediatric ophthalmologist, she would say what a miracle Maddie was for the vision she has.”

Madison’s vision is better than some of the medical tests that have been done indicate that it should be.

Her mom says she is special in other ways too and has a finely tuned sense of justice and desire to champion other kids who might be having trouble.

“One of Maddie’s biggest attributes is that she won’t stand to see someone else get picked on and gets very hurt when sees this happen to her or anyone, for that matter,” said Martin. “She definitely does have some sassiness to her for sure, which anyone who knows her could tell you, but she wouldn’t be our Maddie if she didn’t and we couldn’t be more proud of her for this accomplishment and can’t wait to see where it will bring her on this journey.”

“My biggest goal right now is to be kind and teach others to be kind to everyone!” Madison told the pageant organizers.