Kids suffering from serious mental disabilities are learning to communicate with the help of dogs; one such success story took place in Washington.

Communicating with Ellie, a poodle, is a huge accomplishment for 4-year-old Lydia Ebinger. According to her father, Ed Ebinger, Lydia "never progressed to making any sounds of any sort."

Lydia has always had a hard time verbally and physically interacting with people and her surroundings. Her father said she has even "had difficulty eating" from the very beginning.

Despite numerous tests, doctors have been unable to diagnose her condition. And according to her speech pathologist, Sheela Stuart, before Ellie became involved in Lydia's speech therapy process there "wasn't much she enjoyed" and it was "hard for everybody."

Speech pathologists at Children's National Medical Center are now able to teach Lydia how to communicate with a soundboard with the help of her new friend. Lydia tells Ellie what to do by pressing buttons with pictures, and a pathologist makes sure the dog obeys.

In fact, both the pathologists and the dog have undergone extensive training to become certified in "doggy therapy."

Even though Lydia still has trouble with speaking and communicating, she is interacting and making progress. "She's progressed up to intentionally choosing those messages...she knows what they are," Stuart said.

And for that, Lydia's father couldn't be happier. "You realize that, like every parent, what you want for you child is for them to be happy and get the most out of life, [and] this has helped," Ebinger said.

The new approach to Lydia's therapy has also helped her become more comfortable with people, even leading them to objects she wants. And at home, she has a second soundboard with different messages to express herself.