Thursday, January 19, 2017

Best Texas Authors

Author Mark Ferdinand, a resident of Corpus Christi, Texas has a son with autism that inspires him every day.  Mark's experience enables him to bring a unique character to life in the world of fiction as the best Texas authors have achieved. With the increase of special needs characters as a trend in books, movies and television, Mark is able to approach the creation of such characters with a realism and respect not often seen in popular media.

Fortune on the Spectrum is a novel in which the main character has autism. Traits of his autism give him great focus on his obsession with day trading the stock market. He becomes the youngest self-made millionaire in Texas history.
Best Texas Authors
Texas Author Mark Ferdinand

Mark published his new non-fiction work entitled You're Gonna' Get Bit!: Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.

After completing his first novel, Mark decided to compile a group of stories that brought him to the unusual occupation of snake venom extraction. For those like the creepy crawly reptiles and amphibians, these are tales from amateur fun to professional pitfalls.

From chasing frogs as a child, to milking venomous snakes for a living, Mark Ferdinand explores a lifetime of tales from the world of reptiles and amphibians. Whether it's a quest for his first turtle, keeping crocodiles in his closet, or chasing snakes around the workplace, You're Gonna' Get Bit! has a story that all "herpers" and nature lovers can relate to and enjoy.

Mark Ferdinand writes on topics considered unusual for a Texas author. He lives on the South Texas coast with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, tiki carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father's perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues.


Fortune on the Spectrum and You're Gonna' Get Bit are available through Amazon in both paperback and Kindle. Both are also available for Android and Apple devices.

Books by Mark Ferdinand are available here:

Amazon Page

iTunes

Google Play

Thursday, January 12, 2017

Autism and Bubbles - Sensory Exercise


I remember my son always liking bubbles. This year for Christmas he asked for a bubble machine that he saw on Youtube. Then he asked for another one. Now he has double the bubbles, and hey - what's a party without Bubbles?

Bubble jokes are fun, but I was mostly interested in the sensory therapy of bubbles. I took some footage of him enjoying his bubble machines in order to observe how he interacted with them. I watched the way he looked at them, reached out to them, and even tried to taste them.

Footage below of his bubble therapy for those interested:




Mark Ferdinand lives on the South Texas coast with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father's perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues. Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his special needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism. Corpus Christi author and Texas author Mark Ferdinand. Mark writes novels with autistic characters, and Texas fiction.

Monday, January 9, 2017

COLORADO AUTHORS

COLORADO AUTHORS

Colorado born author Mark Ferdinand is the author of the autism adventure novel Fortune on the Spectrum and the book You're Gonna' Get Bit!: Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.  Unique among Colorado authors, Mark writes of coastal Texas experiences, autism and reptile stories.


Colorado authors
Colorado authors
Mark was born and raised in Longmont, Colorado attending Longs Peak Jr. High and Longmont High School. He earned a degree in Technical Journalism at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. He now lives on Padre Island on the Texas coast, but is still a frequent Colorado visitor with ties to the family cabin.

Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father's perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues.
Colorado Authors

Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism.

After completing his first novel, Fortune on the Spectrum, he decided to compile a group of lifetime stories that brought him to the unusual occupation of snake venom extraction called You're Gonna' Get Bit!: Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.

For those like the creepy crawly reptiles and amphibians. Fun tales from amateur fun to professional pitfalls.

From chasing frogs as a child, to milking venomous snakes for a living, Mark Ferdinand explores a lifetime of tales from the world of reptiles and amphibians.

Colorado Reptile Authors

Whether it's a quest for his first turtle, keeping crocodiles in his closet, or chasing snakes around the workplace, You're Gonna' Get Bit! has a story that all "herpers" and nature lovers can relate to and enjoy.

Corpus Christi author and Colorado author Mark Ferdinand. Mark writes novels with autistic characters, Texas fiction, and true tales of reptiles and amphibians. Mark's work is available in Paperback (Amazon), Kindle (Amazon), iPhone and Android apps.

Monday, January 2, 2017

Autism and Sleep



Autism and sleep

Sleep for my autistic son has always been associated with puzzling timing, inconsistent location, and varying results.  Now that he is sixteen years of age, much of these challenges have been minimized, but some still remain.  As with much of Anton’s challenges, we consider ourselves to be lucky as compared with other wild stories of sleepless autism nights with other kids. I recently took some time to ponder the joys of autism and sleep.


Sleeping by himself in his earlier years delivered the most inconsistencies and surprises. He could have nights where he slept solid and undisturbed as I often do. The next night, however, something completely different might happen.

I certainly did not have many nights like this as a child or even a teen. Interrupted sleep was something to plague me on off nights when thoughts of unfinished business or past obsessions took over my mind. I suppose his sleeping habits could be compared to that of an adult with much on the mind. I for one can relate to nights where I fall asleep easily, only to be woken up by thoughts and not able to return to slumber.

My son now begins his nights in his own bed in his own room. He often makes the request of “couch?”, hoping that we will allow him to sleep on the couch, or “Poppa’s room?” hoping to sleep with me. We regretfully have to decline to help with breaking these habits. Most commonly, his routine is to fall asleep and then wake at five a.m. He then exchanges his bed for the couch in the living room, and turns on the earliest morning cartoons on PBS. We have accepted this compromise and have called it a success.



Author Mark Ferdinand

Mark Ferdinand lives on the South Texas coast with his wife, daughter and son. Fishing the surf, hunting, gardening, carving, auto and home repair occupy his spare time. He has written on the topic of autism spectrum disorder from a father’s perspective in parenting articles and in other non-fiction venues.
Autism author
Autism author Mark Ferdinand

Having limited typical communication skills, his son introduced Mark to new ways of interpreting his needs and aspirations. As his son grew older Mark became fascinated by the story potential within these amazing children. This prompted the creation of a dynamic adventure story focusing on a character with autism.
Mark also has a non-fiction work entitled You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! Harrowing Tales of Herpetology.
From chasing frogs as a child, to milking venomous snakes for a living, Mark Ferdinand explores a lifetime of tales from the world of reptiles and amphibians. Whether it’s a quest for his first turtle, keeping crocodiles in his closet, or chasing snakes around the workplace, You’re Gonna’ Get Bit! has a story that all “herpers” and nature lovers can relate to and enjoy.

Autism Novel Summary 

Denny was diagnosed with autism at three years of age. Autism gave him the gift of obsession. This gift made him the youngest, self-made millionaire in Texas history. Autism also made him vulnerable to the forces of the outside world, of both society and nature. 

Fortune on the Spectrum is the journey of an unstoppable young man, destined to succeed and challenged to survive. Denny's story takes you through struggle, humor, love, and danger from the voice of an atypical mind.


Books by Mark Ferdinand are available here:

Amazon Page

iTunes

Google Play