THE ROLE OF PLAY IN PEDIATRIC OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY

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.