HISTORY
In June of 2010, Realabilties came into being! Prof. Nava Silton assigned her Graduate Child Development students at Fordham University a creative final assignment and decided to complete the assignment herself, as well. The result was the blueprint for: Realabilites! With the wisdom, creativity, insight and support from her graduate students at Fordham University, her talented undergraduate Research Assistants at Marymount Manhattan College and the skills of comic book artists, graphic designers, animators, composers, editors and producers, Realabilities was born!
THE IMPORTANCE OF DISABILITY
IN THE SERIES
Based on Rosenthal’s Affect/Effort Theory (1963), individuals will place more effort in their social interactions, if they have high expectancies of their peers. Therefore, it is hypothesized that if typical children possess more positive expectancies of their peers with disabilities (by learning about their special abilities rather than focusing solely on their impairments), they may make more of an effort to interact and take interest in their peers with disabilities. Additionally, children with disabilities may experience more confidence if on-screen they observe protagonists with disabilities viewed in a positive light.
Realabilities is intended to enhance the behavioral intentions, cognitive attitudes and social interest of typical child viewers towards their peers with disabilities. Overall, it will hopefully allow children with varying disabilities to see themselves in a positive and strong light on the television screen, iPad, computer monitor, or wherever their adventures may take them.
CREATIVE TEAM
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Nava R. Silton, Ph.D.
FOUNDER
Nava R. Silton, Ph.D. is a Developmental Psychologist with a B.S. from Cornell University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Fordham University. She is a Full Professor at Marymount Manhattan College, where she teaches classes in Child Development, Cognition, Personality, Creativity, Children’s Media and has won numerous teaching, research and advising awards. She has worked at Nickelodeon, Sesame Workshop, and Mediakidz, and has consulted for Disney, Netflix, Apple, Blue’s Clues & You, 9Story Media Group and The Autism Seaver Center. She also serves as a Developmental Psychologist for Gan Aliya and Manhattan Day School. She appears regularly on Fox 5 News as a Psychological Correspondent, and has appeared on Good Day New York, Good Day Street Talk and NBC. Silton has written over 36 peer-reviewed journal articles, over 20 chapters, book reviews and encyclopedia entries and has edited seven full textbooks. Her first two books discuss innovative technologies for individuals with autism and other disabilities, her third delves into creativity, her fourth into family dynamics and romantic relationships, her fifth explores the constructs of happiness, gratitude, kindness, empathy and well-being, her sixth text discusses best parenting and child development practices for the 21st century and her seventh discusses the impact of COVID-19 on children, adolescents and adults.
Silton also created the The Realabilities Educational Comic Book Series (www.realabilities.com), which offers 18 comics (12 on disabilities and 6 on mental health disorders) and two instructional manuals for use in classrooms across the world. The disabilities-based series, which received The Reader’s Favorite Award and was a Page Turner Awardee has now been translated into Hebrew and Spanish and is currently being translated into Chinese and French, as well. Due to the popularity of The Realabilities Educational Series in the schools, Silton created Addy & Uno, The First Family Musical about Disabilities, Bullying and Kindness. Addy & Uno, which was nominated for an Off-Broadway Alliance Award, ran Off-Broadway for over 18 months at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in Manhattan (www.addyanduno.com) and is now being developed by the Jim Henson Company for TV. In addition, Silton created a Child Development and Parenting Podcast, entitled A Cup of Java with Dr. Nava. She also created Bashert, a brand-new card game which helps individuals connect and forge meaningful relationships with others. Finally, Nava recently penned three feature screenplays, Pure, The Prof and Jackpot. All three screenplays have already achieved significant recognition (Finalist, Semifinalist and Quarterfinalist designations) in over a dozen screenplay contests. Most recently, Silton was identified as one of the Top 50 screenwriters on the ISA Fellowship slate. Silton is married to Dr. Ariel Brandwein and has five children; three boys and two little girls.
For more about Nava Silton and here work, Click Here
REAL ABILITIES Series Artwork
Christopher Gomez is a cartoonist/Illustrator who specializes in mainstream comics geared towards youth and young adults. With training in both computer technology and fine arts, he possesses ability in both traditional and digital mediums. He graduated with a degree in Cartooning from the School of Visual Arts and is our primary Comic Book Illustrator. His personal website is chrisgomezart.com and his webcomic: cambioncomic.tumblr.com.
Michael Scanlon began his career in children’s media in 2005. Over the last decade, he’s worked as a designer on a number of film, television, app, and publishing projects for clients such as Disney, Nickelodeon, FOX and CBeebies. He loves nothing more than to create fantastical worlds and the whimsical characters that inhabit them.
Research Team
Through the years, the following students have contributed and continue to contribute invaluably to the research success of Realabilities:
Jessica Altchiler, Amanda Anzovino, Senada Arucevic, Lauren Ashbrook, Michael Corning, Alicia Ferris, Roberta Frossard, Rachel Hout, Emily Hotez, Vanessa Norkus, A. Kristina Keyser, Patrick Riley, Michael Rojas, Rebecca Ruchlin, Jennifer Santamaria, Danielle Schlough, Kelly Tarbell, Avery Toland, and Carol Wagner.
