Review: Minimal Pairs Arcade - the Best App for the Minimal Pairs Approach

The minimal pairs approach is one of the most well-known methods of treating children who have phonological speech sound disorders.

In this review, we will look at Aptus Speech Therapy's app Minimal Pairs Arcade, a fun iPad and iPhone app for the minimal pairs approach. Created by Lorraine Curran, a speech therapist and app developer, Aptus Speech Therapy specialises in premium evidence-based apps for speech and language pathology.  They have shared with us a code to review their app Minimal Pairs Arcade for speech therapy. 

The Pairs Approach for speech sound disorders is a therapeutic technique used by speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to help children correct phonological errors that consists of four main approaches: 

• Minimal pairs 

• Maximal pairs 

• Multiple oppositions

• Empty set
  

1. Minimal Pairs: This is the most popular of the four pairs approaches and involves contrasting words that differ by only one sound, which changes the meaning. It has been heavily researched and is used all around the world. 

For example, 'bat' and 'pat'. This approach helps children understand that different sounds change word meanings, encouraging them to correct their pronunciation

Assume a child is having difficulty distinguishing between the /f/ and /th/ sounds, frequently substituting /f/ for /th/. The SLP would select minimal pairs that highlight the difference between these two sounds. An example of such a minimal pair could be:

• "fan" (with the /f/ sound) vs. "than" (with the /th/ sound)

In a therapy session, the SLP might begin by ensuring the child can hear the difference between /f/ and /th/ by playing discrimination games. The child might listen to the SLP say one of the words and then point to a picture of the correct item or say if they heard /f/ or /th/.

2. Maximal Pairs: Similar to minimal pairs, but the contrasting words differ by more than one sound. This approach is used when a child has multiple speech sound errors.

Let's consider a child who frequently substitutes the /t/ sound for the /k/ sound (saying "tar" for "car") and also has difficulty with the /s/ sound at the beginning of words (saying "tar" for "star"). An SLP might select maximal pairs that contrast both the place of articulation (back vs. front) and manner of articulation (stop vs. fricative) to address these issues.

For this child, a set of maximal pairs might include:

• "tar" (child's production) vs. "car" (/t/ vs. /k/, contrasting back vs. front place of articulation)

• "tar" (child's production) vs. "star" (/t/ vs. /s/, contrasting stop vs. fricative manner of articulation)

3. Multiple Oppositions: This approach is used when a child substitutes one sound for multiple other sounds. It involves contrasting the error sound with all the correct sounds it's being substituted for.

Imagine a child who uses the sound /t/ for several different sounds (/k/, /g/, and /ch/). In traditional approaches, each sound might be targeted one at a time, which could be a lengthy process. With the Multiple Oppositions approach, the SLP would address all these sounds simultaneously in relation to the child's /t/ sound.

For this child, the SLP might create sets of contrasts like the following:

• /t/ (child's error sound) vs. /k/ (target sound)

• /t/ vs. /g/

• /t/ vs. /ch/

These contrasts could be illustrated with words that are meaningful to the child, such as:

• "tea" (what the child says) vs. "key" (target word for /k/)

• "tea" vs. "gee" (a playful representation of /g/)

• "tea" vs. "cheese" (target word for /ch/)

4. Empty Set: This approach is used when a child has difficulty with two sounds that aren't in their sound inventory. It involves contrasting words that contain these two sounds.

Imagine a child who does not use the sounds /s/ and /k/ at the beginning of words. In the Empty Set Approach, the SLP would select words that begin with /s/ and /k/ to form contrastive pairs, even though these pairs might not be minimal pairs (differing by more than one sound).

The SLP might choose the words "sun" and "car" as a pair. While not a minimal pair, these words are used to highlight the contrast between the two sounds /s/ and /k/, neither of which the child currently uses correctly in the initial position of words.

We like Minimal Pairs Arcade because, of all of the minimal pairs apps on the App Store, Minimal Pairs Arcade features the best design and is the most fun to use. Additionally, the selection of pairs is extensive, covering every use-case. 

Here are some of the features that make Minimal Pairs App outstanding: 

Perhaps most importantly, the game is fun. I'm an adult and I found it fun. My nephew found it entertaining. It's engaging. 

Compared to the other apps which are more utilitarian, we found that Minimal Pairs was an app that a child might enjoy without adult intervention while still being clinically useful.

The interface is intuitive and well-designed. Everything is where you expect it to be without any clutter. The app doesn’t hang or crash.

Tap the mic button to record your child saying what they see on the flash card. This is useful for evaluating progress and sharing with a clinician.

We found that Minimal Pairs Arcade covered the most common sound pairs as well as the less common pairs. No matter what your child struggles with, Minimal Pairs Arcade has you covered.

Each pair has numerous clear flashcards that you can shuffle through, which keeps Minimal Pairs Arcade interesting as you make progress. 

• Balloon pop challenges you to pop the balloon of the correct flash card that corresponds to the word in focus.

• Feed the tiger is a cute game that lets you drag and drop the right card for the word or sound into the tiger's mouth to feed it.

• Coin drop makes the card selection random.

• Stamp and say is perfect for repetition as you have five chances to say the pair that has been selected.

• Four in a row is awesome for incorporating random selection and gamification to challenge a young speaker.

At the end of each pair, a progress tracker shows you how well your child has done, allowing you to share progress with a clinician, upload to social media, or send progress in a message.

The app is well documented in case you need support in using the app.

Overall, we found the Minimal Pairs Arcade app to be a well-designed and fun game, based on the available research on the minimal pairs approach for treating phonological speech sound disorders. Parents will find it valuable as an at-home activity, and clinicians will find it useful as a clinical aid. 

You can get Minimal Pairs Arcade for iPhone and iPad on the App Store. You might also like some of Aptus Speech Therapy’s other apps.