Overview of Play

Play is a natural activity of early childhood, which has great relevance to the fields of early intervention, early childhood special education, and early childhood education. Within these fields, ongoing tensions persist in how play is described and used. These tensions compromise activities of assessment, intervention, and curriculum development and their connections to research and practice. This article presents a review about the importance of play in early intervention, early childhood special education and early childhood education and how play is regarded and used within these contexts. In an attempt to clarify the literature on play in early intervention and early childhood special education, particular emphasis is placed on distinguishing 2 divergent uses of play: (a) play as a developmental domain and (b) play as an activity base in the service of other goals. Recommendations, implications, and future directions are discussed with respect to practitioners, policymakers, and researchers.