POlitically correct response to a stutter

[Mat]

If you find yourself talking to someone who has a stutter, what is the best course of action to take if they get stuck on a word which you know and is, for example, part of a question?

E.g. This person wants to know if your friend, Tom, is in. You know that this person is asking for Tom but they get stuck on the 'T' in Tom... they want to ask "Is Tom there?" but only get as far as "Is T-t-t-t...".

Do you wait until they manage to finish the word or do you interrupt, finishing the sentence for them? Is one of those choices more offensive than the other or is it completely dependant on the person with the stutter?

 

[Mat]

Interesting replies, thanks.

This thread was written off the back of an incident at work where a chap was asking for a colleague of mine, who shares the same office as me, hence I knew who he was asking for even though he couldn't finish the name.

This also took place over the phone so I'm not sure whether that makes it harder to know how to deal with a stutter when all you can do is either sit there in silence or interrupt... I chose the former and nothing came of it but it did prompt the thought and subsequently this thread...