These findings indicate that the performance of Israeli children overall in these two age groups is not significantly different from the performance of U.S. children. If future research demonstrates that these findings are stable across all age groups and for larger samples, the implication is that the MAP can be administered and scored in Israel with the scoring methodology and normative information developed in the United States. However, because of the poorer performance of Israeli children on the Foundations Index, we recommend that specific Israeli norms be developed.

The MCP demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity. It appears to be a promising standardized assessment tool for use in research and practice to promote understanding of a child's play.

This study investigated changes in the quality and level of exploratory object play during the transition from infancy to toddlerhood. Sixty "typically developing" infants participated in a longitudinal study that included home visits at 10, 12, and 14 months of age. Play was assessed using the Infants' Play Behaviors with Objects during Semi-structured Tasks (POST) procedure, a 5-minute videotaped procedure that exposes infants to novel objects. Results indicated that higher levels of task-directed behavior were strongly associated with more sophisticated levels of object play. Task-directed play behavior increased significantly with age (F = 8.45, p < .001), as did level of play (e.g., F = 26.69, p < .001). Significant differences in the level of play behavior with different objects suggest that infants as young as 10 months show preferences in the play experiences that they find interesting, engaging, and challenging. These findings have relevance for occupational therapists because they demonstrate the transactional nature of play and the need for facilitating an optimal fit between the child, the environment, and the occupation of play.