Can you explain the contradiction regarding the role of emotions in stuttering? This is a discussion for that purpose. It is quite possible that the theory I proposed doesn’t explain 100% of stuttering, and I don’t think there is any theory that can, since we don’t even fully understand stuttering. Therefore, we can only think of theories that make sense and support the limited evidence we have, and that attempt to explain as much of the complexity of stuttering while respecting that evidence. Its actually really hard to elaborate a theory that can support all evidences consdering how complex and variable stuttering is. As for the effort, it is usually a reaction to stuttering, but in my view, nothing prevents force from being applied even before speech begins to occur. You may know in your mind which words are difficult, and before even starting to speak, you may already apply physical force in your preparation to speak. It’s when you’re already tense before you even speak. This makes some sense if we think about why people tend to stutter on the same word. Something is happening with the person when they anticipate that word, which increases the likelihood of stuttering. And it’s not related to the specific word or the sound it starts with—no stuttering is naturally linked to a specific sound; this relationship is built by the person who stutters and their experience with the words they use.