Do some adults "outgrow" their stutter?

 This is a very complex disorder with neurological and psychological components. We tend to bunch the disorder into two broad categories: "developmental" (from childhood) and "neurogenic" (due to accidental neurological damage), but the disorder manifest itself with very different degrees of severity and possibly life courses. It is a simple fact that aging can affect both neurology and psychology of individuals, and it can provide the time to work on ways to adapt to the problem. I have worked on my stutter and I coach people on approaches that have been helpful to me. I stutter rarely right now (and I am "old"). That being said I cannot say for sure that my recovery was NOT due simply to aging. Chances are it was a combination of both aging and working on it.... Bottom line: It is possible that some will simply "outgrow" stuttering in adulthood, as most kids do, but that's certainly not an outcome that can be relied on for most stutterers, unfortunately.

Stuttering while praying and other "special" situations

Stuttering is situational, and different situations affect us differently, but I think it is clear that words that come from memory and with a rhythm (such as in singing and poetry) are processed differently in the brain, and in ways that, for most of us, "bypass" the areas that are vulnerable to stuttering. This is very different from formulating new thoughts and expressing them in new language "on the fly". I have never heard of any stutterer having issues with singing. Poetry, acting, praying, reading, reading in a "chorus", etc. can affect stutterers differently. We all have a vast range of experiences in these areas. Again all these activities are processed in the brain in ways that differ from spontaneous and situational speech.

Are there animals that "stutter"?

My guess is that there should be some kind of symbolic content in the communication, as in patterns of sounds (like words) having a "meaning" as opposed to being purely emotive sounds (like a bark). And there needs to be a specific thought formulation that "plans" on the "word" being produced. It's possible that whales, dolphins, and some primates are at that level. If so, it's not inconceivable that they might experience stuttering. This is pure conjecture on my part. It's actually an interesting question. At some point while at NASA I proposed building a speech producing mechanism that actually simulated the coordination of human speech. My idea was to be able to tweak parameters to make the system "stutter". I tried to sell the idea as a form of human-like robotic speech.

Sometimes it's OK to "give up"... (pause)

We can get into a negative feedback loop (block - emotional reaction - deeper block --- more reaction --- even deeper block...) when our cerebral cortex is essentially "paralyzed" and unable to exert any kind of control we might have learned in therapy. When that happens (and for some of us that's unfortunately not infrequent), it is good to STOP, reset, consciously pause, and regain our bearings and ability to exert some control. In time, the process of "stopping" and "resetting" can become fast enough to be unnoticed. The issue of helpful pausing is covered in my audio course.

Is stuttering "mental"

 If by "mental" one means that there is a psychological component to stuttering, I think that is abundantly clear. Yet that is not incompatible with a very likely "original" neurophysiological issue. The combination of both to various degrees, determines the differences among stutterers. Addressing the psychology, together with specific speech therapy, is a path to improvement although there is no ultimate "cure".

Could amnesia eliminate stuttering?

Thus is an important question that relates to how stuttering is dependent on formed memories. To the extent that our stutter is triggered or made worse by anxiety about past instances, we might be left with what the original neurological problem was, and, at least for a while, the stutter might be lessened... until the whole "stuttering framework" is rebuilt. Does anybody know of any study on amnesia in stutterers? I am also asking myself if the opposite might be true for folks who have been able to build GOOD adaptive behaviors around the onset of blocks etc. (I *might* be in that category...) Would amnesia make me forget how I learned to deal with blocks and send me back to my youthful stuttering patterns? 

About insensitive comments

It's important to note that most fluent people simply do not understand what is going on. That can result in reactions that are insensitive and demeaning. It's incumbent on us to let them know (even if that involves extra talking ... and extra stuttering). This is important for our immediate situation but it's also important for "future stutterers" they may encounter. Every opportunity for "educating" is good for our whole community!