> That initial lock in to start the cough, if I hold it, I can't say anything. Yes, so basically, [this](https://i.imgur.com/vaNRLX1.jpg) is a screenshot of the vocal cords. Watch the picture. If the vocal cords are closed (in a closed position), then no glottal air pressure is able to come out, and thus, if we were try to speak, we can still move the speech muscles but without air/voice (as long as the vocal folds stay closed that is). But, no matter how much you tighten or tense the vocal folds, if you watch the photo again.. we are still able to freely move the vocal folds/cords from a closed to an open state (no matter how tense you tighten them). Try it out for yourself right now. This principle is the exact same as when you tense all the muscles in your hand or arm; you can still make hand or arm movements. In other words, there's no chance that the movements of your arm or hand will be blocked due to excessive tension. Give it a try and see for yourself. So, a more likely scenerario why PWS might block during tension, is because we apply or rely on maladaptive fluency demands/expectations that limit speech performance. Such as, these heightened demands to execute speech movements: * I need or rely on "no tension", to allow myself to move the vocal cords from a closed to an open position (maladaptive fluency demand) * I first require myself to reduce tension, if I want to open the vocal folds * I first need to convince myself that tension doesn't mean that stuttering is about to occur (e.g., I first need confidence to allow myself to move the vocal cords to an open position) (maladaptive fluency demand, that will only limit speech performance, or create reasons to stutter - if the condition/demand is not met). A non-stutterer would find this concept of "needing confidence to execute laryngeal movements" silly, absurd even. Because there should be no need to rely on ANYTHING (whether thought, emotion, (body) sensations, behaviors, techniques, confidence), we allow ourselves to move the laryngeal (and any other speech muscles needed for fluent speech production) without relying on anything and without blaming anything (e.g., blaming that we haven't reduced a certain **threshold** of perceived tension) * I apply tension to let the listener know that I'm still speaking, or, that I'm not stuttering on purpose, and thus, we keep ourselves in a vicious circle of applying and relying on tension (*apply-overreliance on tension stutter cycle*) This is just my own take on it. Can you resonate with this?