Bird-centered ecological engagement: reframing human-bird interaction in stroke rehabilitation

Interacting with birds offers measurable benefits for human well-being, creating a unique multisensory bridge between ecological engagement and psychosocial health. This perspective examines how bird-centered ecological engagement was integrated into an Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (ICAP), a cohort-based rehabilitation model for stroke survivors living with aphasia. Aphasia affects speaking, listening, reading, and writing and is frequently accompanied by social isolation and reduced participation in everyday life. Building upon participation-oriented rehabilitation frameworks, this paper proposes that bird-centered ecological engagement functions as a structured therapeutic interface capable of supporting communication, participation, and psychosocial well-being. Within the ICAP, bird-centered ecological experiences promoted shared attention, ecological observation, and communicative interaction while reconnecting participants with environmental rhythms and social interactions. Across successive ICAP iterations each year, these experiences ranged from guided bird observation and specimen-based learning to adaptive use of binoculars and spotting scopes, bird-call identification, and immersive outdoor soundscape activities. We introduce a conceptual framework in which bird-centered ecological engagement operates through three intersecting mechanisms: 1) ecological grounding of shared attention, 2) communicative scaffolding, and 3) ecological participation and identity reconstruction. Together, these mechanisms suggest that birds may function not only as sources of restorative exposure, but as dynamic ecological referents that organize share attention, interaction, and participation across clinical and community contexts. More broadly, this perspective reframes human-bird interaction research by positioning bird-centered ecological engagement as a communicative and participatory framework through which ecological experiences may support communicative participation, belonging, and psychosocial well-being in rehabilitation settings.