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What got you started on this path?
When nine sets of twins entered my school all at once in 1992
I realized something unusual was happening. I am ashamed to say
that I had not really thought about the needs of multiples at
this point, but I was curious. I attended a meeting run by TAMBA.
There I discovered the variety of topics that may affect the educational
progress and development of multiple birth children. Identity
issues, potential speech and language problems, and the delicacy
of separation were new to me. I had just finished my master's
degree and decided to pursue further study. TAMBA and twin researcher
Professor David Hay of Curtin University in Australia helped and
encouraged me.
Did you have any idea what you were getting into?
No! The lack of current research surprised me. There's so much
we don't know about the preschool experiences of multiples—the
impact of their kinds of play on their learning, the differences
in development between boy/girl multiples and the effects of early
intervention on speech, language and reading.
How did your research approach these topics and what have
you discovered?
Survey of schools: I distributed a questionnaire to schools
throughout England to determine: how primary schools manage multiple
birth children; if there should there be changes in school policy
regarding the management of multiple birth children; and the issues
that schools may need to consider when educating multiple birth
children, particularly upon school entry. The 3,000 schools that
responded represented 11,873 twin children, 117 sets of triplets
and five sets of quads.
Many teachers based their management decisions on their personal
experiences with small numbers of multiples and were also influenced
by media that underscored the expectation that multiples are just
alike. Schools often adhered to rigid policies about school placement.
Some always kept multiples together because children were placed
alphabetically or by birth date. On the other hand, some always
separated multiples because they believed this would assist the
development of individuality.
Reading and math assessment: I found that multiples are
slightly behind singletons in reading and math skills when they
enter school. This underscores the need for careful assessment
of each child's needs in terms of learning support and school
placement.
Parent interviews: Twenty-five parents with multiples
from 21 schools participated in in-depth interviews that identified
major concerns:
- Insufficient preschool places: the difficulty of obtaining preschool
places when schools perceived multiples to be taking up more than
their fair share of space.
- Individuality: the lack of staff attention to the children's
individual identities, mixing the children up and referring to
them as "the twins."
- Competition and rivalry: the dynamics of increased competition
and rivalry, particularly when one child started reading before
the other and appeared to be making more progress.
- Socialization: difficulties in socializing with other children
when the multiples had had little such experience prior to starting
school.
- Separation: lack of consultation between parents and teachers
regarding separate classroom placements, although most of the
children in the sample had little or no experience of separation
prior to starting school.
- Special needs: A third of the children needed speech and language
therapy support. Some of the children born prematurely had disabilities
such as mild cerebral palsy, another indicator of the need for
careful assessment and intervention.
What should parents do?
- Help the children to develop as individuals. They need to recognize
themselves, know their own names and to be rewarded as individuals.
- Help them develop their expressive language and thinking skills.
- Help them learn about separation and school through play and
story.
- Discuss the children's particular needs with the staff before
the start of school.
How have you followed-up on your findings?
School-entry assessment questionnaire: I've developed an
assessment questionnaire for parents and school staff to complete
before the children enter school. I recommend that the parents
and teachers work on it together since the discussion the questionnaire
provokes is as important as the responses to the questions. This
process should develop understanding of the children both as individuals
and as multiples so that decisions such as separation can be made
on the basis of assessment of their needs, not rigid rules.
Policy guidelines for schools: I drafted a policy to guide
schools in addressing multiples' physical, intellectual, personal,
social and emotional development. It recommends that staff consult
parents and assess the children both as individuals and as multiples
before deciding whether or not to separate them.
Professor Hay and I launched an educational Web site during the
Congress of the International Society for Twin Studies (ISTS)
in London. Our site promotes the understanding of the implications
of a multiple birth throughout the school years. There are some
issues such as the separation of multiples in the classroom that
simply do not arise with single-born children. Multiples are more
likely than other children to be seen by a range of specialists
including speech therapists and educational psychologists. They,
too, will find relevant material on the Web site.
Educational systems differ from country to country. All over
the world, however, parents with multiples struggle to address
similar issues and dilemmas. We decided a Web site was the best
way of sharing our many years of experience with multiples in
school and to give the topic international exposure.
Our Web site will link to the growing multiple birth community.
The ISTS spearheads this worldwide network that includes researchers
who are interested in multiples and the Society's Council of Multiple
Birth Organizations (COMBO), a working group for organizations
that help families. Curtin University will support the site's
interactive forums and bulletin boards where multiples, parents
and professionals can raise issues and seek advice from those
in similar situations.
We hope that these practical tools will enable parents and educators
to work together to address multiple birth issues so that multiples
can make the most of their educational opportunities.
Who should attend the ISTS Congress?
Parents, multiples, health and social service professionals and
educators—anyone interested in learning about multiples.
In 2001 the congress was held July 4 through 7 in London. It is
a wonderful opportunity to find out about the latest research
with regard to multiple birth children. During our COMBO sessions
parents exchanged ideas with parents from all over the world.
To find out more, visit the ISTS Web site: www.ists.quimr.edu.au.
Patricia Malmstrom, director of Twin Services Consulting,
is the co-author of The Art of Parenting Twins (Ballantine Books
1999), past chair of COMBO and the mother of four adult children,
including monozygotic identical twins.
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An Interview with
Pat Preedy
- Head
teacher (principal) of Knowle Primary School for 500 children
ages 3 through 11 in Birmingham, England.
- Doctoral
candidate investigating the educational needs of multiple
birth children.
- Education
research consultant for Britain's Twins and Multiple Births
Association (TAMBA).
- Chair
of the Council of Multiple Births Organizations, a working
group of the International Society for Twin Studies.
Current
Project: Web site, www.twinsandmultiples.org, for parents
and professionals regarding the needs of school-age multiples.
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