Eight months ago, Dareth Ross decided to turn a possibility into a reality.
She had been thinking for quite some time about having communication boards in local parks. Having an autistic son who is non-verbal was a powerful motivator, and since her little boy loved to be outdoors and play at parks, she figured other non-verbal or semi-verbal children would also benefit from the boards.
About 3 feet tall and 4 feet wide, the boards are weather resistant and have pictures and clip art that allow semi- or non-verbal people to communicate, simply by indicating on the board what they are trying to say. Mom, Dad, hungry, hurt, hot, yes and no. Push, pull, stop, run, swing, slide, climb – the things a child at a park needs to tell people.
Right around the same time she started doing the research on the communication boards, she learned about ID kits for car seats. Roth ID kits were created by the family of a woman who was killed during a 47-vehicle pileup in Ohio. Her two toddlers were brought to ER, but it took hours to identify them and contact family. In the two years since her family created Roth ID, over 500,000 of the kits and bracelets have been disbursed across all 50 states and in several countries.
The idea of the ID kits struck a chord with Dareth, because William’s silence could make him vulnerable in the event any of his adult caretakers were unable to interact with authorities in an emergency.
To raise funds for the communication boards and Roth ID kits, Dareth created Silent Spectrum – a non-profit based on projects and advocacy for special needs.
The goal was to raise enough money to build at least 5 communication boards and purchase 1,000 Roth IDs for use in Murray County.
With donations from individuals and organizations, Dareth raised the funds to turn her idea into a reality. Local civic organizations were generous, individuals and families came forward to help, and businesses offered their support. With cooperation from Murray County Initiative Foundation and use of their 501c3 status, she was able to obtain two grants.
Her target goal of $10,000 seemed like a mountain at first. But the community came forward and the mountain was scaled.
As of the end of August, there are communication boards in five parks in Slayton, including the two school playgrounds. One of the parks is actually on county land, so when permission was sought to put that board up, Murray County Commission Board Chair Mark Carlson gave his approval for the boards to be installed in any county park.
Each board has a few items particular to that park – whether the play equipment includes swings, slides, a merry-goround, etc. other than that, the five boards are the same. Four of them have both a front and back side.
Other cities in Murray County have shown interest in having communication boards in their local parks. Anyone who is interested in discussing it can contact Dareth at silent.spectrum. est2026@gmail.com.
The Roth IDs are on hand at the Murray County Sheriff’s Office, the Slayton Police Department, through providers at the Murray County Medical Center and at Southwest Health and Human Services in Slayton. They can also be obtained by contacting the Silent Spectrum email. The ID kits can be for parents, grandparents – anyone who transports children in their car seats. If the child outgrows the seat, Roth ID will provide registered participants a new ID for the new seat at no charge.
When it comes to the communication boards, Dareth asks parents to have conversations with their children about what the boards are for and how to include those who need them.
Completing her two primary goals in less than a year has only raised her enthusiasm for advocacy and projects.
“If anyone has ideas about where to put another board or what project comes next, let me know,” she said.
