Introduction: Play represents the central area of childhood and one of the most important occupations for children. It plays a significant role in the holistic development of children and is therefore often the subject of therapeutic and educational practices. Since children with autism spectrum disorder exhibit certain delays, it is important for professionals working with children to also target these in their interventions. Occupational therapists, educators, psychologists, and other paediatric professionals engage in developing and implementing various interventions that affect play and research and observe the child's deficits and characteristics in play. Although the field of play is well-researched, we have not encountered a literature review that summarizes findings on play characteristics as well as interventions. Purpose: To conduct a systematic review of the existing literature and explore and summarize the characteristics of play and how different interventions effect play in preschool children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Methods: We conducted a literature review following the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination guidelines. The search was carried out in three databases: Web of Science, SCOPUS, and CINAHL. During the search, we considered three key concepts: play, preschool children, and autism spectrum disorder. Articles were descriptively analysed and evaluated for quality using the appraisal tools developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines. Results: We analysed sixteen quantitative articles that employed various methods. We then formed three themes: (1) Types of interventions that affect play, (2) Delay in play and (3) Generalization of taught play skills. Discussion and conclusion: Children with autism spectrum disorder show significant delays in play compared to children without developmental issues. Due to these deficits, professionals are focused on developing and implementing effective interventions to improve and develop play skills. They also note better retention of learned play skills and generalization of these skills to other environments and social circumstances. Occupational therapists use play as a therapeutic medium to achieve developmental goals, but more emphasis should be placed on play as an occupation itself. Future research could explore the area of play in other groups of children with developmental issues and delve deeper into, perhaps exclusively, occupational therapy approaches and interventions.
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