**1. Introduction**

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has confirmed that technology has become an integral part of young people's lives. It states that "over 90% of 15-year-olds frequently chat online" [1, 2] and that technology has an essential role to play in the social life of young people [3, 4]. Importantly, technology is part of young people's digital literacy practices. From a social perspective, literary practices include all interactions, such as writing (i.e., from writing a letter to using the ATM) [5], a diversity of semiotic systems (e.g., letters, numbers,

images, and symbols), a variety of discursive genres, and the social relations in which they develop [6].

The development of digital literacy implies a broadening of knowledge and cognitive skills required to use technology, as well as the multimodal (visual, oral, and written, among others), socio-emotional, and other social dimensions [6, 7]. For Ollivier [8], digital literacy takes on different forms of literacy, including technological literacy, which engages varying knowledge and differs from what is typically transmitted in school during reading and writing lessons. Indeed, school literacy practice considers only a fragment of what literacy comprises, reflecting societal choices to prioritize certain practices over those that may be more inherent to daily life [9].

#### **1.1 Digital literacy of people with intellectual disabilities (ID)**

Scholars argue that certain groups of people have less access to digital literacy practices, such as young people with ID [10]. It is important to note that ID is a developmental disorder characterized by significant limitations in intellectual functioning and adaptive behaviors [11]. Various issues arise for individuals with ID, who often end their schooling without building sufficient literacy foundation for everyday activities [12, 13].

Both people with ID [14] and researchers in the field [15] emphasize the need to learn to read and write better [14, 16]. Literacy difficulties, experienced by people with ID, position them in a state of enhanced disability [17]. This is particularly pronounced in the case of digital literacy practices given that reading difficulties are one of the main barriers in the use of digital technology [18]. Yet, several studies also highlight a varied daily use of technologies by adults with ID, including the use of mobile phones, tablets, laptops, video cameras, video game consoles, and radio [19–26]. It shows how important these practices are for adults with ID in terms of engaging with others, having fun, and pursuing personal interests. Similar to individuals with ID, those without ID also find technology useful to support social interactions for people with ID [9, 27–29].

A recent review of research with young people with ID [18] shows that studies mainly address risks associated with the use of digital technology. For instance, studies by Alfredsson Agren et al. [10] and Glumbic et al. [30] indicate that adolescents with ID use the Internet less than those without ID due to limited access to, and difficulties in navigating, the Internet. Still, adolescents with ID use digital tools to chat, to listen to music, and to research on subjects that interest them [10, 31]. Importantly, studies point that young people with ID should be assisted to engage with different digital tools. Barlott et al. [19] emphasize that the most important concern is not whether people with ID have material access to technology, but if they have access to real opportunities to use technologies to enhance their social participation. Thus, digital literacy is equally important for people with ID as it is for others. However, current research does not offer us much understanding from the point of view of young people with ID on how they can be supported in their digital practices. What it does offer us is the need to focus on extracurricular activities of young people with ID to understand their use of digital literacy. These practices are indeed more a matter of daily practices, often undervalued at school. In this sense, Penloup [31] stresses the importance of taking an interest in students' extracurricular literacy practices to discern their various uses of reading and writing, and to address the "ignored knowledge" of these students by educational institutions. For students with developmental disabilities, a comprehensive understanding of their extracurricular practices can

make it possible to understand the meaning these practices hold for them. It can also help us explore the relationships between school and extracurricular practices [32], and thereby develop school activities that can support young people with ID's daily literacy practices [32].

### **1.2 Social justice through the lens of the capability approach**

The above discussed understanding of young people with ID's digital literacy raises the concern of the opportunities offered to people with ID as a social justice concern. Indeed, inequalities emerge when not everyone has the same capability or the freedoms and opportunities to use digital technology [33]. In fact, the transition towards digitalization by many organizations and social interactions exclude individuals without access to it, thus creating a "digital divide" in marginalized individuals' capacity to participate [34]. This social justice concern leads us to examine the personal and collective differences that mark human beings in their relationships with one other [31].

In this article, social justice is viewed through the lens of Sen's capability approach. Sen proposes to consider the links between the available resources, the ways in which people use them, and the contexts that make their use possible (or not). In other words, genuine individual freedom resides in one's ability to use the resources at their disposal to achieve the goals that they desire and value [35]. For instance, educational policies should favor the development of an "enabling" environment, in which both resources and opportunities are offered for all individuals to master their capabilities and thus support the various choices valued by them. In turn, this ability to make choices helps people develop their agency and self-determination. Agency involves acting and changing things according to one's own values and goals [36], while selfdetermination concerns the development of skills and abilities to exercise one's agency [37]. Thus, making technologies available to students can be considered as a first step towards developing their agency. However, it is essential that these tools are used in a way that young people feel are useful to them. This aspect of usefulness is important as research shows that people with ID exhibit fewer self-determined behaviors than people without ID [37, 38]. Consequently, this article attempts to document how students with ID express their capabilities in digital literacy.
