>The tensing of my jaw/mouth is very very instinctive esp on a feared word. I agree completely! You raise a good point. I argue that speech therapies place too much emphasis on '*reducing tension of the jaw/mouth and other speech muscles*'. My argument is, because let's test it: * Can you tense your jaw/mouth as much as possible right now, while pronouncing the letter /P/ ? * See? You are still able to say the letter /P/ without blocking, even when you tense your speech muscles 'too much'. * Let's test something else out: Right now, can you tense your leg muscles as much as possible and then try to walk. See? The physical tension in itself can never lead to a block. In my opinion, speech therapists focus too much on '*reducing the tension of speech muscles*' when the physical tension itself does not reduce blocking, would you agree?