This paper examines play as a fundamental children's activity, giving particular attention to the inclusion children with impairments at play and children's shared construction of their playworlds. Children with impairments are customarily portrayed as incompetent, unskilled or deficient in their play, thus being positioned on the margins (or, as 'who's out'?) of mainstream discourses. On the other hand, nonimpaired children are usually regarded as competent players, who play in 'normal' ways (as 'who's in'?). Little attention is afforded to noticing skillful or proficient play by children with impairments and including their perspectives in play research.The Social Model of Childhood Disability offers a perspective for considering 'disabled childhoods' and framing enquiry into the culturally-constructed playworlds of children with impairments. Evidence from two ethnographic studies that examine children with impairments at play is discussed, employing vignettes that utilize data from researcher and teacher observation notes. The paper documents specific play interactions related to individual experiences and interests and explores how children work together and alone to create meaningful play interactions.The authors demonstrate how careful observation of children with impairments can uncover how they act with agency and provide examples of their deliberate, but often unnoticed, actions. Furthermore, children with impairments can be identified as active, creative agents who self-monitor, make choices and exert control over their play and who have unique play cultures that they construct for and between themselves.The notion that play for children is a mutual, shared and inclusive cultural experience is supported in this paper.

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