So I'd like to leave my personal opinion and experiences here as well, hope it helps! 1. Telling him to think about what he wants to say isn't the best idea. We know what we want to say, we just can't say it. However, let him know that he and his struggles are respected and valid. If you really want to say something, I find phrases like "relax, it's fine", "don't worry, just try [the word] again" etc. great when you notice he is really struggling. For smaller stutters, I'd say nothing and try to to not act on it. 2a. Yes, we can stop talking. Getting stuck on a word feels like almost everything between tongue and throat tense up and prevents the word/syllable from coming out. You can stop or relax at any time but you need a basic tension to say words in general. That's just how it is. Whenever I'm told to relax and "let everything go", I often don't do it because I know I'll "lose" the word. Restarting the word sometimes makes it better but usually there's not much of a difference for me. 2b. For me, blocks "just happen". I can't really set up rules to determine/check if a word works or not. Over time, I've noticed sounds (for example words starting with "dat" etc.) and letters (for me it's mainly s, w, f, b/p, c/k and d/t) that I need to really watch out for but it always depends on the situation and my current mood. I can usually tell if a word will create a block around a second before saying that word. I've learned to pretty much always have at least one synonym in my head ready for almost every other word I say. Back to the question: Yes, they are involuntarily :) A general note: People who stutter usually downgrade and attack themselves enough, they don't need others to do it to them as well. Even if you tell them that you are not judging them, they might still think you are judging them, which can be a solid reason for social anxiety. I don't think there's much you can do about this – other than to not blame him for it but I'm sure you'd never do that – I just wanted to let you know that you've heard about this. Also, this is my personal experience and can vary depending on, well, so many factors. — One more thing: There are no stupid or ridiculous questions. Thank you for reaching out, asking these questions and wanting to support your child in this. If you have more questions or anything I can help you with, please feel free to ask here or message me! Cheers