Objective. This study examined the roles that play occupies within cur
rent occupational therapy practice with preschoolers. Method. Two hund
red twenty-four pediatric occupational therapists completed mail quest
ionnaires designed to ascertain how they use play in their practice, t
heir Knowledge and we of play assessments, and potential constraints o
n their use of play. Results. Although respondents indicated that play
was important in motivating children and frequently used play as a tr
eatment modality or reinforcer, they less frequently assessed play beh
aviors or wrote treatment goals and objectives related to play Differe
nces were found between school-based and non-school-based respondents
regarding the discipline or model that addresses play in the work sett
ing, the we of play assessments, and constraints that limit the use of
play in the work setting. Conclusion. The results suggest a need for
increasing the emphasis on play in entry-level curricula and continuin
g education, improving clinician access to valid and reliable play ass
essments, and completing studies designed to examine the use and effic
acy of play in occupational therapy intervention.