My Story – Taiss Quartapa

From an early age, I have always thrived on variety. I was fascinated by everything and wanted nothing more than to just keep discovering. As a child, this was acceptable and seen as the fickleness of youth.

It wasn’t until much later in life that I was diagnosed with High-functioning Autism, ADHD and Opposition Defiance Disorder – and I often make jokes about the fact that my non-neurotypical makeup makes me literally incapable of staying on one track or following ‘normal rules’.

Part of my neuro makeup means I have two modes – scattered or hyper-focused. My mind never had a ‘train of thought’ – but an ‘electrical storm’. Sometimes, this is noisy but can lead to capturing sudden flashes of insight between lightning-strikes.

I also noticed a pattern where I would become interested in an area and I would deep-dive in, becoming all-consumed, become pretty good at whatever it was – and then I would hit this point where I’d ‘wear it out’. A friend once coined these periods as my ‘knowledge benders’ which lasted from a month through to a year.