Preedy School Placement Checklist

Preedy SCHOOL PLACEMENT CHECKLIST                                                                       Pat Preedy, Ph.D.

PAT PREEDY  “Together Or Apart”   A Checklist for Parents And Teachers of Multiples

©This document is copyright and may be copied for internal use only.

This checklist and questionnaire provides a framework for parents and teachers when discussing separation of multiple birth children in school.   There is no simple recipe to decide if multiples should be separated in school. With regard to higher multiples we need to ask, “Who, if anyone, should be separated from the others?”  Rather than simply focusing on whether or not to separate, discussion between parents and teachers should cover:

• how dependent/independent the children are;
• social skills and dependence upon adults;
• previous experience of being apart;
• language and abilities relative to each other and to their peer group;
• behavior at preschool or at school;
• does one dominate e.g. when reading or telling about events, do they take turns to dominate or none of the children dominate?
• in social situations, does one always hang back?
• interests at home, at sport and at school;
• needs for intervention (speech and language therapy, physiotherapy etc.);
• same or different friends;
• zygosity and sex; generally girls are closer than boys and MZ are closer than

DZ , but there are so many exceptions to any rule!

• physical development-are they much smaller (or larger) than most of the other

children?

• age of the multiples-is it time for them to try a new experience?
• feelings of teachers and parents;
• views of any other professional seeing the multiples;
• wishes of the children: especially where these differ from each other or from

those of the adults.

THE CLOSENESS OF THE MULTIPLE BOND:  IS IT DIFFERENT AT HOME AND AT SCHOOL?

When parents and teachers talk about what is best for multiples, it may sometimes seem as though they are speaking about different children. Any child may behave quite differently at home than at school. The following questions deal with behaviors which are often situation-specific and if answered separately by parents and teachers can give some idea of what may be different between the home and school situation. The checklist may be used by parents and nursery staff when considering placement at the start of school or at any stage when during the school year.

1. Have you found if one multiple is ill or upset, the other(s) are affected also?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

2. If one multiple is reprimanded do you find the other(s) react(s) or are affected also?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

3a. Do the multiples combine forces to be helpful?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

3b. Do the multiples combine to be creative?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

3c. Do the multiples combine to be disruptive?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

4. Does one multiple check what the other(s) are getting or doing? (Answer for each child)

CHILD A:	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)
CHILD B:	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)
CHILD C:	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)
CHILD D:	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

(Apologies to parents of quintuplets or more!)

5a. Do the multiples compare themselves in sports activities?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

5b. Do the multiples compare themselves in appearance?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

5c. Do the multiples compare themselves in academic performance?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

5d. Do the multiples compare themselves in popularity and peer approval?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

5e. Do the multiples compare themselves in adult approval?

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

6. Which of the following characterizes competition among the multiples

They compete constantly with each other.	Parent	Teacher
They co-operate and have pride in each other.
Their competitiveness is healthy.   They compete for adult approval.
They are jealous and never praise each other.

7. If one child is obviously more talented in a particular area, the other(s) will opt out

	Usually	Sometimes	Seldom	Never
Parents
Teacher(s)

8. Do you believe the children show a tendency to go to opposite extremes in behavior, personality, interests (e.g. quiet/noisy; indoor/outdoor; outgoing/shy; placid aggressive)

	YES	NO
Parents
Teacher(s)

9. At present which multiple do you think needs extra help at school in:

Parent Response	Child A	Child B	Child C	Child D
– Speech & Language
– Writing
– Reading
– Number Skills
– Fine Motor Skills
– Gross Motor Skills

Teacher Response	Child A	Child B	Child C	Child D
– Speech & Language
– Writing
– Reading
– Number Skills
– Fine Motor Skills
– Gross Motor Skills

10. At present what do you think each multiple would prefer?

Parent Response	Child A	Child B	Child C	Child D
To be in the same class
To be in separate classes
To be in separate schools
The children don’t mind
Haven’t asked them

Teacher Response	Child A	Child B	Child C	Child D
To be in the same class
To be in separate classes
To be in separate schools
The children don’t mind
Haven’t asked them

Having completed the checklist, consider the reasons for separating the children or keeping them together in school.

Reasons For Separation	Reasons For Keeping Together

Final decision made in partnership with parents and teachers.

We have decided to ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

because…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

.……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Any further action (e.g. assessment; involvement of outside agencies).

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

Date of review:……………………………. Signed…………………………………………………………(Parents)

Signed…………………………………………………………(School)     Date……………………