*4.2.2 Conversion factors*

Among individual conversion factors, Julia had the desire to sing a song, and an interest in music, especially recent pop and rap music. She explained during a meeting, "Me, what I like to read as lyrics… I like music to sing like that … but, in fact, I said to myself why not be a YouTuber and to show my singing talent or whatever … to make music videos like some YouTubers have done". Social conversion factors are also essential in the transformation of resources into capabilities. These were in the form of Julia's loved ones' encouragement to perform her skills. For example, Julia discussed with her parents about how she used Spotify. Finally, environmental conversion factors included Julia having access to a conducive and calm environment (e.g., her room), allowing her to sing her songs without interruption. She also had time to use Spotify and engage in the activities she enjoyed.

*Daily Use of Digital Literacy among Young People with Intellectual Disabilities: A Capability… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.114035*

#### *4.2.3 From capabilities to functionings*

In Julia's example of digital literacy practice, reading and singing song lyrics highlighted the achievement of the capability of "play". Although resources and conversion factors are important to support capabilities and functionings, it is necessary to consider the central role of Julia's agency. Indeed, the exercise of choice and Julia's opinions were essential during the process or the conversion of resources into capability and the transformation of capabilities into functioning. Julia could have all the resources and conversion factors stated above, but also could have decided not to read the song's lyrics. Therefore, her autonomy is fundamental to achieving the capability of play.

#### **4.3 Analysis of Léa's digital literacy practice: léa chats with her loved ones**

Léa was living in Montreal, Quebec, at the time of this study. Over the course of data collection, she celebrated her 16th birthday and attended a secondary special school in her neighborhood. During the meetings, she shared many of her hobbies, including listening to music, reading with her parents, and going to the park with her boyfriend and friends. For Léa, one of the most valued functionings was writing text messages to her loved ones, especially her friends, her boyfriend, and her family. During the second meeting, she showed the researchers some of the conversations she had using her iPhone. For example, she displayed a discussion with a school friend. The researcher asked her what they wrote to each other and Léa replied, "Photos, writing, everything". She then scrolled through their conversation and showed that they were a mix of texts, drawings, and photos. She specified that she and her friend sent each other drawings. When asked who she chatted with on the different applications, she opened a conversation with her boyfriend, with whom she had shared a photo of her birthday cake (see **Figure 2**). In the following meeting, Léa again presented some conversations on her phone with her boyfriend, some with her friends, and some with her grandmother. She clarified that she used certain applications, such as Messenger Kid and Snapchat to "call, text, write and send photos" to her social circle.

#### *4.3.1 Internal and external resources*

In terms of internal resources, Léa had an understanding of using the various chat applications—both in terms of their functionality and usefulness. During the third meeting, Léa used her phone to quickly respond to several people who had written to her. She also showed the researchers the messages she had saved on the Messenger application. The use of Messenger brought her into contact with her loved ones. Further, despite having a beginner's level in reading, Léa learned to write and read on a digital medium, thereby giving her the possibility of reading, sending, and responding to the messages in different manners (i.e., with words, images, and drawings). On this subject, Léa's parents acknowledged the ease and the abilities of their daughter with technology, "it seems that her thoughts are intertwined with electronics, you know! They grew up with it". Additionally, Léa had developed fine motor skills to use the keyboard of the iPhone, which had a narrower numeric keypad than other devices (e.g., a computer or a tablet; see **Figure 2**). In terms of external resources, Léa had access to digital equipment (i.e., an iPhone with access to the Wi-Fi), which further provided her with the possibility of accessing chat applications (e.g., Messenger Kids, Snapchat). Finally, her loved ones were accessible on chat applications, giving Léa further opportunities to talk with them and use the device.

**Figure 2.** *Screenshot of the second meeting's video.*
