Not Your Usual Classroom

From animal walks to sensory mats, every ‘game’ in Xu Cuili’s class is designed to build real-life skills.

‘Animal walks’ and bouncing on a trampoline — It’s all in a day’s work for a MINDS Occupational Therapist

Minds Feature: 27 October 2023

Featured Occupational Therapist:

Xu Cuili, Occupational Therapist @ Rainbow Centre

Senior student learning to pack items as part of a work hardening group aimed at improving vocational skills, and hence employability.

Before moving to her current organisation (Rainbow Centre), Occupational Therapist Xu Cuili, served at MINDS Woodlands Gardens School, helping children with special needs build independence through creative, play-based therapy. Her sessions include “animal walks” — where kids crawl, jump, or slither to strengthen their bodies and improve coordination — and sensory activities like bouncing on gym balls or exploring tactile mats.

Cuili entered the disability sector as a fresh graduate, transitioning from hospital-based placements with elderly patients to supporting children with complex cognitive, sensory, and physical needs. She quickly learned to manage meltdowns and tailor strategies for each child, often collaborating with teachers, parents, and other allied health professionals to provide holistic support.

She uses playful tools like Play-Doh to improve focus and fine motor control, while also preparing older students for vocational tasks such as packing or baking to build endurance and workplace readiness.

Her continuous learning mindset drives her — she attends webinars, reads therapy blogs, and adapts new ideas into her sessions. Through structured sensorimotor group classes, Cuili has seen measurable improvements in her students’ attention, regulation, and behaviour.

Above all, she believes every child has potential and advocates for greater understanding and acceptance of the special needs community. Her message is simple but powerful: “Focus on their abilities, not their disabilities.”

(Source: Minds)