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Introduction

This section sets the scene for the subsequent sections by providing background information about multiples in general and introducing some of the problems families can face before or at the arrival of multiples.

"I could not believe the teacher. She started by asking if Rebecca and Daniel were identical twins! When I said they were born at 36 weeks and she went on about how early that was, I hardly had the heart to tell her it was pretty typical for twins. I hope she knows more about teaching than about twins! Actually we got on pretty well after that."

Not all twins are the same

"The three sets of twins I have taught have all been vastly different. One set were heavily dependent upon one another; another pair were very conscious of their unique position in the class and avoided each other at all costs; and the pair I have at present are almost oblivious of their situation. It is important to realise that each set of twins should be summed up according to their personalities and characteristics and handled accordingly throughout their stay within a particular class."

This quotation from a South Australian teacher makes a most vital point with which to begin to explore this website ­there is no such thing as a policy applicable to all twins or higher multiples. What works well for one family may be totally inappropriate for the next. Thus such phrases as "twins always compete with each other" or "in this school we always separate twins" are not appropriate for today's education which acknowledges the individuality of each child or in this case children Several Australian states have recognised that not all twins are the same by requiring schools NOT to have a formal policy that is applied to ALL multiple birth families. Thus decisions about such issues as separation of twins in school MUST be made on the basis of what is best for that family and not as a rigid policy or one based upon experiences with the previous set of multiples in the school.

It is of great concern that so many messages from families essentially all begin the same way

"In our school the policy with multiples is to….."

The aim of this website is to introduce a best-practice model which uses empirical evidence to identify key questions in deciding what is best for these particular multiples at this stage of their schooling.