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EMPOWERING
TECHNOLOGY
Elizabeth Kaleta
Keeping people with disabilities
connected through digital literacy
By CAITLIN HART
Photos ERIC BELIVEAU
TODAY, MANY OF US take our ability to navigate
technology for granted. From banking and
shopping to talking to friends and family, many
of us are using technology for these everyday
activities. Without digital skills, individuals can
become isolated and disempowered.
“As people who don’t live with any kind
of physical or mental disabilities, we don’t
realize how often disability can lead to
isolation,” says Elizabeth Kaleta, Director
of Social Inclusion and Support Services at
Cerebral Palsy (CP) Alberta.
In 2010, after realizing the rapidly changing
technologies were leaving people behind, CP
Alberta started offering the ComputAbilities
program to help people with disabilities feel
connected in an increasingly digital world.
Held weekly over three months, the course
is offered four times a year — and many
people currently enrolled in ComputAbilities
have been taking the classes for years,
including Greg Liknes and Chris Cli.
Over the last 15 years, the program has
evolved, although most of the basics have
remained the same: teaching seniors and
people with disabilities to do everything from
typing to coding, and using programs like
Microsoft Word and Google Maps. As social
media became more popular, they added
instruction on using these platforms.
As the program has grown, so too has the
focus on digital safety. Seniors in particular
can be vulnerable to online scams. Every
component of what ComputAbilities teaches
— from applying for jobs to online banking to
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