Outcomes of Minimal Pair Intervention in a School-aged Child with a Consistent Phonological Disorder: A Multiple Baseline Single Case Study

Abstract

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of minimal pair intervention in a school-aged child with consistent phonological disorder, using a multiple baseline single case study design. Method: The participant was a boy aged 8;11 who presented with a consistent phonological disorder. A multiple baseline single case study design was used to measure the effect of six sessions of minimal pair intervention for treating consistent phonological disorder. There was a two-week baseline period prior to the intervention phase. The outcome measures included measures of the severity of the speech sound disorder and speech intelligibility, which were taken pre-, immediately postintervention, and five months post-intervention. Other measures included the monitoring of the accuracy of production of the treated targets /ʃ/ and un-treated targets /ʤ/, /ʧ/, and /ɹ/ during intervention. Main results: There was an increase in accuracy in the production of treated and untreated target sounds post-intervention. There was a reduction in the severity of the speech sound disorder and an improvement in speech intelligibility post-intervention. These changes were maintained five months post-intervention. Conclusion: Minimal pair intervention, when provided over six sessions, can result in positive changes in the severity of speech sound disorder, accuracy of the target phonemes and speech intelligibility in a schoolaged child with consistent phonological disorder.