ABOUT LOUISA

My name is Louisa Jensen.  I was born in 1989 and live with my family in Brisbane, Australia. Every day I live with the enormous challenges of Autism with Dyspraxia, Epilepsy, Sensory Disturbances and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.  I am not able to communicate verbally very easily,  I struggle to plan and control my movements effectively, I face the uncertainties of Epilepsy, and battle with the controlling forces of OCD, and Bi-Polar II.

Despite all this, my life has been similar to that of many others, with both challenges and achievements.  It has been rich with family, friends and experiences. I was two when I was diagnosed with Autism with Dyspraxia. Autism is a camouflage to a mind that thinks and says intelligent things, and a body forced to look and behave in strange ways.  I cannot communicate effectively by speaking because of my lack of control over my movements. That doesn’t mean I don’t have anything to say! At a young age, I was given the opportunity to communicate via Facilitated Communication. FCT gives me more control over my movements so I can point to spell out what I want to say. It gets my thoughts out but is much slower than speech. However, I can show that I do understand lots of things and have answers for many people about life as an Autistic person.

Despite having to prove I have my own thoughts and answers, I was fortunate  to attend regular Primary and High Schools (with the support of trained facilitators), at a time when ASD wasn’t understood in the way it is today. In high school, I had the opportunity to study all mainstream subjects. In Senior, I selected only those subjects that were most interesting to me and graduated successfully in Modern History, Pre-vocational Mathematics and Communication English.

Since finishing High School, I have had many opportunities to grow in my experiences, utilising the support I need. For two years I attended TAFE, successfully completing courses in Vocational Literacy, Vocational Skills Development, and Skills for the Future.  I especially enjoy writing Poetry and Prose.  I regularly participate in discussion and creative writing groups where I can develop my skills and share my knowledge and interest.  I have been referred to as a wordsmith, because of my skill and way with using language to express my knowledge.  I am also an experienced international traveler, having travelled thousands of miles, and visited France several times and NZ more times than I can count!  I love experiencing life and cultures in other countries.

I am a published author and experienced presenter. I have always wanted to help people understand that life for a nonverbal person is not how it seems. I want to inspire others and make a difference by educating people about how life is experienced from my neurodiverse perspective. This has driven me to establish a motivational speaking business where I deliver presentations, advise and answer questions, based on my life experiences.

My primary goal in life is to encourage individuals with life challenges similar to my own, to reach their full potential by never giving up and being willing to try new things.  Through my presentations, I also want to motivate carers and professionals to look past the disability a person may have, and see possibilities rather than just the limitations. The responses I have received from my presentations are extremely positive and I look forward to doing many more. 

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