Stuttering Therapy Technique: Cancellation

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>> Hello. This
is Scott Yaruss

from Stuttering
Therapy Resources.

This video will give you
a brief introduction

to the use of the
technique, cancellation.

Cancellation is

a stuttering
modification technique

introduced by
Charles Van Riper

in his classic 1973 book

about stuttering
treatment.

Cancellation has been
used for many years,

primarily as a strategy
for helping people

reduce physical tension

in their speech mechanisms

following stuttering.

Cancellation can be used

in a variety of
different ways and

has many different
purposes,

but overall, the thing
to remember is that

it's after a moment
of stuttering

to help people change

the physical tension
that they experience

in their speech mechanism.

Here's what a
cancellation sounds like.

If I am going to produce

a stutter on the
word computer,

as I'm talking,
I might say,

this is my
[inaudible] computer.

Now, just there, I
used a fake stutter,

what we call a
pseudo stutter,

on that word computer.

If I were to use a
cancellation after that,

I would produce the
word with stuttering,

as I did in that example,

but then afterwards
come back and modify

the way in which I
stuttered on that word.

So it would
sound like this.

This is my [inaudible]
computer, computer.

Notice that time that
what I did was after

I finished stuttering
on the word computer,

I came back to
that word and

produced the word
again differently

with a different
kind of stutter,

in this case, less
physical tension.

I did [inaudible]
computer,

then easier, computer.

That's really one
of the main things

that cancellation
helps people do

is it helps them
learn to change

the physical
tension that they

use in their speech.

Van Riper introduced
cancellation

as one of three
ways of modifying

tension in speech:

before the tension
happens, preparatory set,

which we'll cover in
a different video,

pull out, that is,

while the tension
is happening,

again, we'll address
that in another video,

and this third
strategy, cancellation.

Now you're asking,

why have I started
with cancellation?

Because it comes
after the fact.

And it's exactly because

it comes after the fact

that I often introduce
it in therapy

earlier than some of
the other strategies

because it gives
the speaker

the opportunity to
experience the stutter

and then go back
and modify it

rather than just
running from it

or trying not to
let it happen.

Thus, with cancellation,

in addition to
modifying tension,

we also get benefits
with desensitization,

with understanding
the moment

and with being able
to be in that moment

without feeling the
need to run from it.

So let me provide

a little bit
more information

about how we do
cancellation.

As I mentioned,

after the stutter
is completed,

you reduce that tension
and do it again.

Now here's a
very important

thing about cancellation.

When you do it again,

you don't do it
again fluently.

So it's not just going,

he-ere, here's
my computer,

because in that, I
learn very little about

how to modify a
moment of stuttering.

What Van Riper
stressed is that

when we go back

to repeat the
stuttered moment,

we must do it with
modified stuttering,

that is, a little
less tension,

maybe a different
kind of stutter,

maybe instead of a
block, a repetition,

maybe instead of a
prolongation, a repetition,

typically less and
more in control.

This is, again, where
we gain that benefit,

that knowledge of learning

how to change tension.

It can take
different forms.

I can go like this.

My, my telephone
is ringing.

Fortunately, it's not.

Or I could do,

my telephone, my
telephone is ringing.

Notice that in
either case,

I finished the
thing I was saying,

whether it was the
stutter or the phrase,

I paused,

thought about where
that tension was,

and then went back
to modify it.

In my experience,

many times my clients
don't really like

the idea of
cancellation at first,

and that's because of
their sensitivity,

their fear about
stuttering,

but in doing this,

they get that opportunity
to experience

greater control

following the moment
of stuttering,

and it helps them
desensitize.

And as they desensitize,

they'll find that they
have an easier time

being in those moments,

they'll find that they
have an easier time

tolerating those moments,

and this will help
to prepare them

for other
techniques later.

Here are just a few more.

What is the, what is the
weather like outside?

When will we get,

when will we get
to the park?

I would like to [inaudible]
go, go outside.

You can use cancellation
with any stimulus.

You can use it from
a reading passage.

You can use it
in conversation.

I often like to
introduce it

in brief phrases first
to help the client

get the feel for
experiencing that tension

then modifying that
tension after the fact.

They get the
desensitization.

They get the opportunity
to learn about

what they're doing
when they stutter,

and they get to practice
with modifying it.

And that's what leads on

to other stuttering
modification techniques.

We have lots more to say

about cancellation
in our book,

"School-age
Stuttering Therapy:

A Practical Guide."

You can get information
on that and

on all of our
other materials

from Stuttering
Therapy Resources

on our website,

www.stutteringtherapyresources.com.

You can also follow us
on Twitter and Facebook

and all of the rest
in social media.

Looking forward to
see you next time.