Most of us had parents who either didn't want to address it or tried to "fix" it and I it doesn't really do much good. Many kids develop stuttering around the age of seven so its not uncommon. There's a chance this could be life long and you're going to need to become okwith that, for your sakes and your kid's sake. Often times its harder for the parents to accept than the kids and it can lead to a lot of pressure to be fluent, which just makes everything scarier and worse. I would see a good specialist. It's not going to hurt the kid. But what can hurt him, is having this serious issue ignored in the hopes that it goes away and have him develop some very counterproductive beliefs and mechanisms. This isn't some 'wish away the condition' type deal. The earlier he gets help, the easier it will be to make sure he doesn't develop negative avoidance traits and beliefs about it. I would also be wary of anyone who focuses only on fluency. I understand this is probably difficult to understand since the "problem" is the stutter and you want to "fix" it by getting him to not stutter, but so many times that makes things worse. If there's a lot of pressure, he could become a 'Covert Sutterer', which is when someone hides their stutter so well that most people dont know that they even stutter. I know friends who are so good at substituting their words and waiting or pausing for a safe time to speak, or pretending not to know something so they dont have to speak up that even their siblings or best friends don't know they stutter. This might sound good, like they are "managing" it but let me assure you it's a kind of hell. They're ALWAYS on guard, always on edge because letting anyone see them stutter would be the most mortifying thing in the world. Eventually, if they dont somehow grow out of the problem, most seek to accept their stuttering and just become comfortable because to continue hiding and not speaking up is a really shitty life. You need to understand that you can have a stutter and still lead a complete and rewarding life. I know, through the national stuttering association and their awesome conferences many people who stutter openly and have impressive careers (Journalist, Nurse, even a Trial Lawyer) and they all stutter a lot still. They get married and live their lives as they want. The only thing that can hold them back is themselves. their paralyzing fear. You dont want to reinforce that that can do anything, stutter or no stutter. Be practical, but don't let yourself be so afraid that the anxiety transfers over. I'm sure you know how good kids are at picking up on subtleties. I would find a good therapist. Not one who's only going to focus on fluency and counts the number of disfluencies your child has and if he has less, thats progress. This will only make stuttering out to seem "bad" or "wrong", when it's not, its just the way he talks and though a little different, That Is OK! This is a key point I would make sure your wife understands but it might be easier for her to get the point if it comes from an SLP (speech-language Pathologist). Again, be wary of someone who counts stutters and reports less stuttering as progress. Less stuttering isn't good if your son is talking less or just not say saying the things he wants to because he doesn't wan to stutter (thinking stuttering is bad!!!).