A system and method are configured to utilize patient effort to increase cough flow of a subject by limiting airway collapse by causing a series of exsufflation events over an individual exhalation of the subject. A single exhalation of the subject is segmented into a series of exsufflation events by a processor configured to toggle a pressure regulator between a first airway closed mode and a second airway open mode. The processor is configured such that the transitions between the closed and open modes are initiated based on predetermined timing or based on output signals generated by sensors monitoring one or more gas parameters (for example, pressure) in the airway of the patient.