Research

Addy & Uno is a brand-new 50 minute Family Musical on Theater Row (42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenue). The show  inspires kindness and empathy and asks the important question of: What if Goodness Ruled the World? The show (created by Nava Silton, with music & lyrics by Bonnie Gleicher and direction by Donna Drake) has been lauded and celebrated by Playbill, BroadwayWorld, The New York Times, Time Out New York, Fox 5 News, Good Day Street Talk, Fox 5, Good Day New York, NBC News, CBS News, Speech to Stage, Mommy Poppins, Forbes Magazine, etc. As Uno, a child with autism, faces the challenge of competing in his school's math competition, his friends with varying disabilities - ADHD, visual, hearing and physical impairment - rally in support. Through puppets and soaring music, Addy & Uno is a heartfelt and hilarious journey celebrating hope, big dreams and the beauty of differences. For tickets or to learn more about the show, you can visit: www.addyanduno.com and/or www.telecharge.com.

The Realabilities Educational Comic Book Series Curriculumconsists of 11 full comic books for each student and A Comic Book Companion and Disabilities in Depth Manual for Instructors. The 11 comic books teach about 11 different disabilities (Autism, ADHD, physical, visual and hearing impairment, Dyslexia, Down syndrome, Tourettes syndrome, Williams syndrome, Stuttering and Traumatic Brain Injury) and teach kindness, sensitivity, empathy and understanding, while promoting a strong stop bullying platform in the schools. The Comic Book Companion allows teachers to extend the important messages of the comic books by offering discussion questions and activities the students can consider and do. The Disabilities in Depth Manual offers comprehensive information about all ten disabilities in formats customized to both children and adults.

Just under two dozen schools have tested out various iterations of the comic book curriculum and we have seen incredible change from pre- to post-testing on third  through fifth graders' attitudes, intentions and knowledge of disabilities, and improved stop bullying knowledge and attitudes following the curriculum.

***If you’d like to see Results of the Paired Samples T-tests, the Analysis of Covariance or basic Descriptive findings, please contact us and we will be delighted to supply them.

KIDS & TEACHER TESTED,

KIDS & TEACHER APPROVED!

Various iterations of The Realabilities TV Show and Comic Book Series have traveled to Elementary Schools in Manhattan, NY (N=76 students), Brooklyn, NY (N=152 students), Albany, NY (N=68 Students),Teaneck, New Jersey (N=57 Students), and Baltimore, Maryland (N=87 Students).  The New Teachers’ Realabilities Pack (Including the first 5Realabilities Comic Books, the Comic Book Companion and theDisabilities in Depth Manual) will be tested in schools in Manhattan, NYthis summer and in Baltimore, Maryland, Skokie, Illinois and Denver, Colorado in the Fall! If your school is interested in the Realabilitiestesting or in the Realabilities package this fall, please contact us as soon as possible to ensure you have all of your materials in time!

SAMPLE CHILD RESPONSES:

“We just watched your episode of “Realabilities.” It was amazing. I learned that people with disabilities have a lot more abilities than I thought. I think that for the next episode, you can do it in the mall where it’s public and show what it’s like.  My favorite character is Rolly because he is amazing at soccer and it proves that people in a wheelchair can play sports.” – D., 4th grade female

“I loved Realabilities! I empathized with the characters. I learned that it’s important to accept everyone no matter if they have a disability. I think Ezra did the right thing- he made them feel a part of the group. I think it’s hard to stand up to a mean person, but I think I would try to do this.” – E., 4th grade male

SAMPLE TEACHER RESPONSE:

“This project exceeded my expectations and I am thrilled that I made the time to incorporate this into the curriculum and into the day in general.  We read one comic book a day and the students waited with baited breath to receive the new comic book the next day. They empathized with many of the characters and were able to see themselves in many of the characters.  We were fortunate to have the creator, Nava Silton come to discuss her project with us and they couldn't wait to read future story lines. Some even suggested ideas and themes for future books and episodes. Realabilities is a deep, meaningful, and fun way to teach empathy and actual skills on how to relate to others with differences.  I highly recommend it.” –4th Grade Teacher  

Research Team

Through the years, the following students have contributed and continue to contribute invaluably to the research success of Realabilities:

Jessica Altchiler, Senada Arucevic, Amanda Anzovino, 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.

Books

ORAL AND POSTER PRESENTATIONS

Previous Presentation Posters:

Silton, N.R., Ruchlin, R., & Arucevic, S. (March 2013). Realabilities: Fostering sensitivity of typical children towards children with special needs. For presentation at the Eastern Psychological Association, New York, N.Y. March 4-5.

Silton, N.R., Ruchlin, R., & Arucevic, S. (April 2013). Realabilities: Promoting sensitivity of typical children towards children with special needs. For presentation at Hunter College, New York, N.Y. April 21.

Silton, N.R., Ruchlin, R., & Arucevic, S. (April 2013). Realabilities in Baltimore: Enhancing sensitivity of typical children towards children with special needs. For presentation at Pace University, New York, N.Y. May 4.

Silton, N.R., Ruchlin, R., & Arucevic, S. (May 2013). Testing Three Episodes of Realabilities in two schools to enhance sensitivity to children with disabilities. For presentation at the Association for Psychological Science, Washington, May 23-26.

Silton, N.R., Ruchlin, R., & Arucevic, S. (August 2013). Testing Three Episodes of Realabilities in Three Schools. For presentation at the American Psychological Association (APA), Oahu, Hawaii, July 31-August 4.

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. (October 2013). Realabilities: Creating and Assessing a New Children's Television Show. For presentation at the Greater New York Behavioral Conference, New York, NY, October 27.

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y. (March 2014). For presentation at Honors Day at Marymount Manhattan College, New York, March 13. 

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y. (March 2014). Realabilities Pilot Study: Testing the Efficacy of Graphic Novels to Prevent Bullying and Enhance Typical Children’s Sensitivity to Children with Disabilities. For presentation at the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston, M.A., March 13-15.

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y.  (March 2014). Realabilities: A Review of the Research. Hunter College Psychology Conference, New York, N.Y., March 30.

Silton, N.R. (March 2014). A Discussion on Autism. Hunter College Psychology Conference, New York, N.Y., March 30. 

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y. (April 2014). Realabilities: A TV Show and Comic Book Series to Enhance Empathy. For presentation at the Westchester Undergraduate Research Conference, Westchester, N.Y., April 4.

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y. (April 2014). Realabilities: Testing the Efficacy of a Video and Comic-Based Research Intervention to Teach About Disabilities and to Prevent Bullying. For presentation at the Bedford Hills Research Conference, Westchester County, NY, April 25. 

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y.  (May 2014). Realabilities: A TV Show and Comic Book Series to Foster Empathy and Prevent Bullying Among School Children, Annual Pace Psychology Conference, New York, NY, May 3.

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y.  (May 2014). For presentation at the Annual Science Research Conference at Marymount Manhattan College, New York, NY, May 5.

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y.  (May 2014). Realabilities: Testing the Efficacy of Graphic Novels and an Animated Episode to Prevent Bullying and to Enhance Typical Children's Sensitivity to Children with Disabilities.  For presentation at the 26th APS Annual Convention, San Francisco, CA, May 22-25.

Silton, N.R., Arucevic, S., Ruchlin, R., Ferris, A. & Zackchewski, Y.  (August 2014). Using Television and Book Media to Prevent Bullying and to Foster Sensitivity Toward Children With Disabilities. For presentation at the American Psychological Association (APA) Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.,August 7-10.

Silton, N.R., Ferris, A., Keyser, K., Wagner, C., Corning, M., Rojas, M., Schlough, D. & Toland, A.  (2014). Considering Grade in the Impact of Realabilities Television Show and Comic Book Series on Children’s Cognitive Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions towards Children with Disabilities, Greater New York Behavioral Conference (GNYBC), November 9.

Silton, N.R., Ferris, A., Keyser, K., Wagner, C., Corning, M., Rojas, Schlough, D. & Toland, A. (2015). Considering Gender in the Impact of Realabilities Television Show and Comic Book Series on Children’s Cognitive Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions towards Children with Disabilities, Eastern Psychological Association (EPA), Philadephia, PA, March 6-8.

Silton, N.R., Ferris, A., Keyser, K., Wagner, C., Corning, M., Rojas, M., Schlough, D. & Toland, A. (2015). Realabilities: The Impact of a TV Show and Comic Book Series on Children’s Perceptions of Children with Disabilities,Hunter College Psychology Conference, April 26th. 

Silton, N.R., Ferris, A., Keyser, K., Wagner, C., Corning, M., Rojas, M., Schlough, D. & Toland, A. (2015). Realabilities: Fostering Positive Perceptions towards Disabilities through a TV Show and Comic Book Series, Pace Psychology Conference, May 9th.

Silton, N.R. A., Keyser, K., Wagner, C., Corning, M., Rojas, M., & Schlough & Hotez, E. (2015).  Realabilities: The Impact of a TV Show and Comic Book Series on Children’s Perceptions of Children with Disabilities, A Consideration of Gender, Association for Psychological Science (APS), New York, NY, May 21-24.