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Minimal Pairs Therapy – How Does it Work?

Updated: Dec 8, 2023

Have you ever attended your child’s speech therapy sessions focusing on speech sounds and been curious as to what’s being done in therapy and how it can help? This post will cover minimal pairs therapy (one approach to treating speech sound disorders that speech pathologists use), including how it works and some of the principles behind it.


Minimal pairs are pairs of words that differ by one sound (e.g., key/tea and go/dough).


These pairs are used as an intervention approach to support children with consistent error patterns in their speech (e.g., replacing the /k/ sound with a /t/ sound or /th/ with /f/).


When a child is constantly using these error patterns it affects how well their speech can be understood.


This intervention approach is focused on targeting these consistent patterns, rather than the individual sounds.


Some children may use several of these patterns, which has more of an impact on how well they can be understood.


Some error patterns are typical at certain ages, especially if a child is still young and hasn’t developed certain speech sounds yet. For example, a child aged 2.5 years is likely to delete the final sound in a word (e.g., ‘uh’ for ‘up’).


This visual shows the average age we can expect children develop certain speech sounds.



However, some error patterns are delayed or unusual. A delayed error pattern means it is no longer appropriate for the child to use at their age. For example, replacing /k/ with /t/ at 4 years of age.

An unusual error pattern refers to patterns that not all children would use as they develop their speech sounds. For example, deleting the first consonant in a word (e.g., ‘up’ for ‘cup’).


Minimal pairs therapy can be used with a child that presents with any one of these consistent patterns whether they are developmental, delayed, or unusual. It is typically used with children who are 4-6 years of age but can be used with children as young as 3. The child must be able to be stimulated to produce the target sound (when provided with specific cues, prompts or modelling). It is best to get in contact with a speech pathologist to determine if your child would be suitable for this therapy approach.




What Minimal Pairs Therapy Can Look Like in Action:

1. Choose word pairs.

Word pairs (usually 4-8) that differ by the sound your child is having difficulty with are chosen. For example, if your child is having difficulty with the /l/ sound and often produces it as the /y/ sound instead, words chosen might include less vs yes, lose vs use, lay vs yay and lamb vs yam. There is evidence you don’t need many words to create system wide change.

2. Familiarising client with the meaning of the words.

It is important your child understands the meaning of the words chosen, and that producing the word differently impacts how a listener understands them.

3. Check they can hear the difference between the word pairs.

A child is asked to point to the word said. (E.g., point to key, point to tea) to ensure they can hear the difference.

4. Practice saying the words.

This makes up the majority of therapy and continues until your

child can say the sound correctly at all positions of a word, in phrases, sentences and conversation!


It is important to note that this can often take time, especially if a child has been using a certain error pattern for a long period of time.







Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Feel free to leave any comments or questions below. It should be noted minimal pairs therapy is only one approach to intervention for children with sound error patterns and other patterns may be better suited for your child’s presentation.


If you have concerns about your child’s speech development, it is best to speak to a Speech Pathologist for guidance. You can give us a call on 0450 501 023, or email hello@bambinihealth.com.au to find out more.









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