[Source: The Mark Allen Family, Via Judith Kuster.net ]

Dr. Mark Allen’s therapy program Speak Freely: Essential Speech Skills for School-aged Children Who Stutter is now-available free online, placed there by Judy and Tom Kuster at the request and with permission of Mark’s family in his memory. It includes the complete Therapy Handbook and Student Workbook, as well as audios and videos demonstrating “Stuttering Modification Strategies: Working with Your Stuttering.” The materials may especially be helpful for clinicians delivering therapy not only in person, but through distance learning (tele-practice). Mark lived for many years with Parkinson’s Disease and was forced to retire in 2016. His original work described above remains a valuable resource. He noted on his LinkedIn page that his experience as a person who stutters fueled his commitment to help those who struggle with this challenging problem. While his Parkinson’s Disease prevented him from continuing to treat clients directly, he was gratified by the awareness that he will continue to help SLPs assist people who stutter by making available his excellent therapy materials.

Mark was among the initial cadre of speech-language pathologists to be recognized as a fluency specialist by ASHA’s Special Commission on Fluency Disorders. He was also a member of ASHA’s Special Interest Group 4, Fluency and Fluency Disorders and he spoke at numerous local and national professional workshops on stuttering treatment. He was part of the well-attended “Voices Past and Present: Paths Toward Recovery from Stuttering” panel at the 2011 American Speech-Language- Hearing Association Convention (San Diego) at which professionals who stutter spoke about their personal journeys and their roads toward recovery from the difficulties of stuttering. You can view here the illustrative slides and listen to an audio recording of Mark’s presentation at the 2011 ASHA Convention.

Before his passing in 2018 Mark had nearly thirty years of experience working with people who stutter. He was on the special education faculty at Niles North High School for 25 years and had a successful private practice where he was the director of the Center for Stuttering Therapy and owner of Speak Freely Publications in Evanston. He had a passion for supporting individuals living with stuttering.

Download these books from Judith Kuster’s Stuttering Website!  

Learn More About the Program on ASHAWire