What type of movement might indicate a secondary characteristic of stuttering?

The choice highlighting eye movements and blinking is significant when discussing secondary characteristics of stuttering. These behaviors often develop as a response to the primary struggle with speech. People who stutter may exhibit additional symptoms like excessive eye blinking or other facial movements in an attempt to facilitate their speech or manage their anxiety and frustration associated with the communication disorder. Such movements serve as compensatory strategies or reactions to the pressure of speaking, representing a common secondary characteristic that accompanies the primary speech disruptions.

In contrast, spontaneous gestures may be part of normal communicative behavior rather than a response to stuttering. Singing is generally considered a fluent mode of speech for many individuals who stutter because it engages different neural pathways. Fluent sentences, by their nature, would not be indicative of stuttering, but rather demonstrate the absence of speech disfluency, which would not align with the concept of secondary characteristics. Thus, eye movements and blinking stand out as relevant indicators of secondary behaviors linked to stuttering.