How to Implement Minimal Pairs in Your Speech Therapy Sessions

**What is Minimal Pairs? ** A contrastive approach that uses two target words that differ by a single phoneme and by one or two features (place, manner and voicing). It is appropriate for children with mild, mild-moderate, moderate or moderate-severe speech sound disorders with consistent phonological errors who are 4-6 years old.

Something consider before choosing the minimal pairs approach: the child should be stimulable for targets or be able to engage in verbal imitation and follow directions describing correct articulatory placement and be able to engage in 30-60 minutes of drill-play based activities.

What your session might look like

You have 4 steps that will be included in the process: familiarization of target words, perception training, imitation, and independent production.

First you have to determine which type of minimal pairs approach you will be using with the child. Is the child stimulable for the targets? If yes, you will follow the meaningful minimal pairs approach. If no, you will follow the perception production minimal pairs approach.

Meaningful Minimal Pairs:

Step 1: Familiarization Share the words with a simple description for each picture cue card.

Step 2: Listening You state the target word then child picks up or points to target word, they must meet 90% accuracy to move to the next step.

Step 3: Production in words Contrast minimal pair words in drill-play. You will provide praise for correct responses and instructional feedback for incorrect responses. Request clarification when the target is produced incorrectly.

Step 4: Production in phrases, sentences, and conversation Begin with structured sentences then reduce the structure to more conversational speech in play based child-led activities.

Step 5: Check Generalization You can do this by checking untreated target words or a conversational speech sample.

Perception Production Minimal Pairs:

Step 1: Familiarization Share the words with a simple description for each picture cue card.

Step 2: Listening You state the target word then child picks up or points to target word, they must meet 90% accuracy to move to the next step. There will be more trials and activities than in meaningful minimal pairs approach.

Step 3: Production (imitation) You provide a model of target words and the child repeats, models and description of articulatory placement as needed; must meet 90% accuracy for the child to move to the next step.

Step 4: Production (spontaneous) Child produces target word without model from SLP with praise and feedback from SLP; child must meet 50% accuracy in a minimum of 50 trials.

Step 5: Production in words Contrast minimal pair words in drill-play. You will provide praise for correct responses and instructional feedback for incorrect responses. Request clarification when the target is produced incorrectly.

Step 6: Production in phrases, sentences, and conversation Begin with structured sentences then reduce the structure to more conversational speech in play based child-led activities.

Step 7: Check Generalization You can do this by checking untreated target words or a conversational speech sample.

If you’d like to learn more, check out the minimal pairs approach https://www.speechdatabase.com/treatment-library/speech-sound-disorders/phonology/minimal-oppositions-minimal-pairs.

Looking for some fun therapy activities to use when implement minimal pairs approach? Check out our blog post treatment activity ideas for minimal pairs next week.