Minimal Pair Contrast Method

Major focus area

Speech Therapy -> Phonology

Short description

This cognitive-linguistic approach is a therapeutic use of pairs of words that differ by one phoneme only. Minimal pairs are use to establish contrast not present in the patient's phonological system (Weiner, 1981).

Long description

This cognitive-linguistic approach is a therapeutic use of pairs of words that differ by one phoneme only. Minimal pairs are use to establish contrast not present in the patient's phonological system.

Method:
1) Write minimal contrast word pairs. Example; FCD boat-bow, tee-teeth, and bead-bee or Fronting can-tan, key-tea, and gate-date.
2) Have picture stimuli for words in selected pairs.
3) Model the target and the contrast word to the patient.
4) Extensive trials on the imitative production of the target and contrast word.
5) Patient names the picture pairs and SLP IDs the production picture

(Weiner, 1981)

Parent skilled intervention

Contrast Approach