Professor Nava Silton’s Comic Book Series ‘Realabilities’ Expands its Reach—and its Opportunities for Students
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When Psychology Professor Nava Silton, Ph.D., began developing her Realabilities comic book series in the early 2010s, she hoped it would be as valuable a tool for MMC students as for the young readers it aimed to reach.
The series follows five grade-schoolers with disabilities, showcasing their strengths and skills—and challenging the often-narrow way children with disabilities are depicted in the media. Behind the scenes, Dr. Silton has also used the comics to spotlight MMC students, inviting them to work alongside her on everything from testing to gauge the books’ impact to producing offshoots of the comics that have come to include a mental health edition, an Off-Broadway puppet show musical, and a television series in development with the Jim Henson Company.
“As an undergrad, I would put so much effort into writing a research-based, nuanced paper. And I was always frustrated that it just ended there—I would get the grade and be done,” Dr. Silton said. “I love the idea of giving students the opportunity to have a deliverable or outcome for work they have poured their heart and soul into.”
This spring, some 15 years after she introduced Realabilities, the series is again taking on new forms—and giving a new generation of MMC students a chance to shine. Dr. Silton and her team are developing both audiobook and Braille editions. And, under the banner of her educational gaming company, Dr. Nava Games, which has already produced five games, they hope to have a mobile video game version of Realabilities ready for testing by the summer.
All of the projects feature MMC students in hands-on roles. Adding to the momentum, the projects are poised for international exposure: a documentary by Canadian filmmakers about Realabilities and Dr. Nava Games is set to debut this summer.
In addition, a separate project by Dr. Silton and student collaborators hit shelves this semester: her 10th textbook, Benefits of Play and Play Therapy for Children of Diverse Backgrounds. The book explores the benefits of games, play therapy, sports, and recreation for vulnerable groups of children. As with past textbooks she has edited, the table of contents showcases a number of MMC students and alums—including Karinna Chavez ’25, Mina Candelario ’25, Eric Rodrigues ’26, Bonnie Browne ’25, Isabelle Claire Bannon ’24, and Zachary Biron ’24—who worked closely with her to turn their research papers into book chapters and earn an academic byline in the process.
“With Realabilities, I want the outcome to be that children become investigators who find the beautiful strengths in each person, but that’s also something I try to do with students,” she said. “I try to recognize what a student is amazing at—whether it’s art, storytelling, or research—and find ways to showcase those abilities.”
That includes students like Matthew Cho ’27, a Psychology major with a minor in Social Work. Cho learned about Realabilities during his freshman year, after taking one of Dr. Silton’s classes, and immediately connected with Melody, a character who is visually impaired. Cho lost his sight at age 15 after emergency surgery to remove a brain tumor.
“The characters in the comics live normal lives, and I think that’s what touched me,” he said. “Ever since I became blind, I’ve tried to do the same for myself. I stay involved in sports and at school. Having a disability doesn’t define me in any way.”
Though Dr. Silton had planned to produce an audio version of the comics, Cho suggested she do a Braille version, too. “Matthew said to me, ‘Dr. Silton, this comic series is amazing, but how would someone like me read it?’ And I thought, ‘Oh my God, good point.” Cho even offered to help her create it; he had learned to read Braille at 17 and knew how to use a Braille writer. Now, as a junior, he’s working on converting the Realabilities Omnibus—which contains 13 comics—into Braille as part of his internship with Dr. Silton. Classmate Averey Bartley is helping by reading the comics aloud to Cho as he works.
Cho recently accompanied Dr. Silton on a visit to Manhattan Day School, where fourth- and fifth-grade classes are participating in post-tests of the Realabilities series, and shared his own experiences with visual impairment. He showed students his Braille writer, pages from the comic he had converted, and his adaptive sports equipment, including a soccer ball with bells that enables him to play. Fox 5 News covered the visit. “The kids want him to come back to play a soccer game with them using the audible ball,” Silton said.
Cho also helped inform Dr. Silton’s approach to the Realabilities audiobook; she’s tapping people with lived experiences similar to the characters to bring the comics to life. “We’re hiring an actor with a visual impairment to play the character with visual impairment, an actor with hearing impairment to play the character with hearing impairment, so there’s real representation,” she said.
That same commitment carries through to the tactile board games produced through Dr. Nava Games. Dr. Silton is working with The Arc of New Jersey, a nonprofit that trains and employs individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to assemble a team that will package and distribute the games. “It’s very exciting to me that my mission of helping individuals with disabilities is also going to play out in the actual storage, packaging, and distribution part of the process,” she said.
For the past few years, Dr. Silton has also been working with Alexander Donnelly, an IT technician at MMC with a background in digital art and video game design, to create a video game version of the comics. Last summer, they added student intern Norelle Ramlagan ’26, an Art and Psychology double major, to the team. With Ramlagan’s help, they hope to have a version ready for testing by the summer.
The video game follows characters from the comics who use strengths developed through their disabilities to solve puzzles. While the premise is familiar, the format is new territory for Dr. Silton, who has largely focused on board games designed for classrooms, therapy settings, and small groups. “We’re using it to meet the needs of kids who we may not have reached with the Realabilities print comic books or the musical version,” she said.
Ramlagan, who aspires to have a career in animation or game development, has taken courses in both at the College. However, the Realabilities project is his first opportunity to work on a game in a hands-on, real-world setting. “This project has become very meaningful to me,” he said. “It not only offers an opportunity to have significant responsibility, but in shadowing Alex, I’ve learned so much about 3D and 3D design.”
He hopes the experience will help him stand out in future job searches. Dr. Silton hopes so, too. “Students tell me that when they bring the comic books or a chapter from a textbook we’ve worked on together to job interviews, it really gives them a leg up,” she said. “That means everything to me. I want them to be able to take their passion in an area and use it to their benefit.”
Published: April 30, 2026
New MMC Center Helps Students Find Creative Paths in Health Care
Professor Nava Silton has had a varied career in health and human development. She’s created graphic novels about the adventures of children with visible and invisible disabilities and produced an off-Broadway musical about disabilities and bullying. Levar Burton and The Jim Henson Company are developing two of her projects for the small screen.
But she wouldn’t have been able to envision it in her early days as a premed student; back then, she thought building a career in health meant following a narrow professional track. “I remember thinking, okay, maybe I’ll be a physician or teach in a medical school,” she said. “I’d always been creative, but I never thought it would relate to any professional goals I’d have in health.”
That changed when she took a developmental psychology class that showed her how rich and exciting the field could be and worked with a professor who helped her realize that creativity could be an asset in health—and not just a passion she pursued on the side.
Now, as the director of MMC’s new Center for Health, Human Development, and Creativity, Dr. Silton is helping Marymount Manhattan students reach that same understanding from the moment they step foot on campus.
