Children with and without intellectual disabilities were observed playing with toys during both home-based independent play and classroom-based freeplay situations. Categorical and sequential play was analysed for within- and between-group patterns. Within-group patterns during classroom freeplay were similar for both groups. There were no significant differences among home-based categorical play variables for children with intellectual disabilities; however, children without intellectual disabilities engaged in significantly more constructive play than other home-based categorical play types. Between-group analyses of home-classroom difference scores revealed greater variability in play for children with intellectual disabilities than children without intellectual disabilities. The analyses presented complement and extend extant work on contextually-based variation of children's toy play supporting a more positive ability profile for children with intellectual disabilities than that engendered by classroom-based observations. Results have implications for (a) perceptions of and attitudes toward children with intellectual disabilities held by stakeholders, and (b) how intervention targets are determined. (Contains 5 tables.)