Nick, I am currently very busy with college and work, so I will give a brief explanation of what I have learned regarding the question in your post and the phenomenon of stuttering in general. When infants begin to learn to walk, they constantly stumble and fall time and again before they eventually master the skill of walking. The word skill is important, because just like walking, speech isn’t something that just comes naturally, it’s a skill that is practiced and perfected over time. When infants begin the process of acquiring speech, they will normally stumble on and generally have difficulty with certain words, and it’s normal as their capacity for speech isn’t fully developed. But, as time goes on, they eventually master the skill of speech, and the difficulties therein would be conquered. They would be able to speak with no impediments, just as they would be able to walk with no imbalances. Now, when you walk, do you actively and consciously coordinate every foot? You would have done so actively and consciously when first learning to walk, but after mastering the skill, the task of walking would have been assigned to the subconscious mind by which you would have been able to walk without conscious coordinated effort. The same exact transitory process occurs with speech. Eventually, the subconscious would be tasked with your speech mechanism. Now the question is why would the subconscious take over speech mechanism? So that we are able to direct our conscious effort to our surroundings and potential dangers therein. Now, for example, let’s say that you’re in a room with a stranger or even an acquaintance. As you approach him or her to talk, or vice versa, your subconscious mind immediately takes over the task of speech the moment you intend to speak so that your conscious mind can “consciously” concentrate on that individual and your surroundings, for any signs of trouble or danger. The subconscious mechanism is activated by variety of external and internal stimuli, such as seeing, hearing, or even expecting or imagining someone’s presence (it’s also believed that the subconscious mind is unable to distinguish between real and false stimuli. Thus, you would react to jump-scares whether in movies or actual life, despite being consciously aware that it’s just a movie). The subconscious mechanism is paramount to our function and survival. However, from what I understand, it’s also a stuttering person’s worst enemy. (Before I continue, do you believe that stuttering could be psychological? I noticed some people get upset when referring to stuttering as a psychological disorder.)