A pull-out is a speech tool I use with clients as they gain the ability to monitor and change their stuttering. Once a client demonstrates the ability to use cancellations, I will introduce the idea of pull-outs. It is important to note that a person does not “graduate” from using cancellations to pull-outs, but will rather integrate the two strategies. A person will call upon one tool over the other depending on how quickly they “catch” a particular disfluency.
WHAT IS A PULL-OUT?
— A speech tool used in the moment of a disfluency
— This strategy is considered a “stuttering modification” tool.
–It requires you to catch a word that you are stuttering on and slide/stretch out of it (AKA “get on the sound”).
WHY DO PULL-OUTS WORK?
— Increases airflow (as often there is a stoppage, especially during a block)
— Changes the articulatory posture (the shape that your lips, tongue, jaw, etc. are in) to a posture that is less tense and allows for sound to escape in a more forward-moving way.
— Cancellations work in much the same manner, but pull-outs do not require a pause to “regroup” and release the tension.
WHAT DOES A PULL-OUT SOUND LIKE?
— Puh-puh-puh-plllllease pass the salt.
— This is an example of a person with quick and tense part word repetitions. Listen to the audio sample above to hear what a pull-out sounds like in comparison to a cancellation.
If you have any questions/comments about pull-outs or the difference between pull-outs and other stuttering modification tools, please post below!