Realabilities: The Omnibus

Nava R. Silton, Ph.D., a Developmental Psychologist, received her B.S. from Cornell University in 2002 and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Fordham University in 2009. Silton has worked at Nickelodeon, Sesame Street Workshop, Mediakidz and has consulted for Netflix and The Autism Seaver Center. She appears regularly on Fox 5 News as a psychological correspondent and has appeared on NBC News, The Thom Hartmann Show and on various radio stations. Silton has written over three dozen peer-reviewed journal articles and over thirty academic chapters, book reviews and encyclopedia entries. She has also edited six 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 into happiness, gratitude, kindness, empathy and well-being and her sixth into best child development and parenting practices for the twenty-first century. Silton created The Realabilities Educational Comic Book Series Curriculum (www.realabilities.com), which offers 15 comics (12 related to disabilities and 3 related to mental health disorders) and two instructional manuals for use in classrooms across the world. The Realabilities Comic Book Series has now been translated into Spanish, Hebrew, French and Chinese. Due to the popularity of the Realabilities Series in the schools, Silton created Addy & Uno, The First Family Musical about Disabilities, Bullying and Kindness. Most recently, Addy & Uno ran for 18 months off-Broadway at Theater Row on 42nd Street in New York, NY and is currently traveling to schools all across the tristate area and beyond. Realabilities and Addy & Uno intend to fill a significant void in children's literature and media, so that individuals with disabilities and mental health disorders can see themselves represented positively on-screen and typical children and adults can become increasingly knowledgeable, sensitive and interested in their peers with disabilities and/or mental health disorders. Moreover, the comic series and show seek to promote a stop bullying platform. Silton is married to Dr. Ariel Brandwein and has three little men and two little ladies! Christopher Gomez is a cartoonist and 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. You can see his portfolio at- http: //portfolios.sva.edu/chrisgomezart