A little over a year ago, an unwanted diagnosis set local military spouse, Alyssa Luczak, on a whole new career path. Luczak, who is a Registered Behavioral Technician at L.E.A.P.S. and Beyond, Inc., is the mother of three boys: Nathaniel (age 9), Colin (age 7) and Peyton (age 5). When Nathaniel began having leg problems, Luczak and her husband, Petty Officer First Class Paul Luczak, who is serving on the USS Nimitz currently stationed in Bremerton, went looking for answers. After months of doctors and specialists, physicians at Madigan Hospital and the Naval Hospital in Bremerton linked Nathaniel's leg issues to toe walking, something typical of children with autism. Within a few months, Luczak received a diagnosis no parent wants to hear: Nathaniel, as well as his younger brother, Colin, were both on the autism spectrum.

Her search for answers led Luczak to become a Registered Applied Behavioral Analysis Technician, working with children on the autism spectrum by implementing Applied Behavioral Analysis interventions. In their book, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Drs. Baer, Wolf and Risley define Applied Behavior Analysis as "... the process of systematically applying interventions based upon the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors to a meaningful degree, and to demonstrate that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior."

Now, Luczak has been one of only a very few ABA techs nationwide - and the only one from Kitsap County - to be invited to participate in an exchange of ABA teaching and therapies in the city of Chandigarh, India. This coming February, under the auspices of Skillcorps, the international exchange program sponsored by the Global Autism Project, a New York-based nonprofit organization dedicated to training people around the world in the most up-to-date autism therapies, Luczak will travel to India to teach ABA skills to educators and parents in Chandigarh.

"I feel extremely fortunate to be one of the few selected to go," said Luczak, "... this is more than a trip to me.  I am not only helping abroad, but I am hoping to bring back something to the company I work with as well, especially (my) coworkers, and the children and families they work with directly."

But a trip to India - even a working trip like this one - doesn't come cheap. Luczak, who is studying to become a Board Certified Behavioral Analyst, must raise $5,000 in the next few months in order to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Ideally, Luczak hopes to find companies willing to sponsor her on this trip in order to show their support for children diagnosed with autism. However, she has also created a Crowdrise page that she hopes will help raise the needed funds. Online donations may be made at https://www.crowdrise.com/skillcorps-india-feb-2017/fundraiser/alyssaluczak/setup_success/team.  Checks may also be made out to the Global Autism Project and mailed to Global Autism Project, 252 3rd Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11215. Be sure to put "Alyssa Luczak" in the memo line.

The organization Luczak works for, L.E.A.P.S. (Learning Enrichment and Assessment Promoting Success) and Beyond, Inc., provides customized in-home therapies for children on the autism spectrum who live between Whidbey Island and Silverdale. Interested parents can contact them at 866.240.0808 or 360.240.0022.

Luczak doesn't want to see her children - or other children on the autism spectrum - limited by their diagnosis. She said, "Autism is more than a disability, it's an ability. In my boys' words, ‘We aren't autistic; we are awesome!'"

L.E.A.P.S. and Beyond, Inc., 231 SE Barrington Dr., #203, Oak Harbor, 866.240.0808 or 360.240.0022