DR KAY ALICYN FERRELL
Position:
Professor, School of Special Education
Director, National Center on Severe & Sensory Disabilities
College of Education and Behavioral Sciences
University of Northern Colorado
Area of Specialization:
Education of individuals with visual disabilities, particularly infants and preschoolers; families; deaf blindness; personnel preparation, distance instructional methodologies.
Research Areas/ Interests:
Development of young children with visual impairments; cross-modal abilities of infants with disabilities; outcomes for students with visual impairments; distance education; personnel preparation, description.
Current (2011) research projects:
Description Enhanced Assessment for Students with Visual and Print Disabilities
Field test and validation of tactile and large print analogs to the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (3d ed.) and the Boehm-3 Preschool
Publications (since 2001)
Juried Books
Ferrell, K. A. (2011). Reach out and teach (2d ed.). New York: AFB Press.
Juried Book Chapters
Banerjee, R., Bowen, S., Ferrell, K. (2011). Working with children with visual impairment, hearing loss, and severe disabilities. In C. Groark (Series Ed.) & S. P. Maude (Vol. Ed.), Early childhood intervention: Program and policies for special needs children: Vol. 2. Proven strategies and instructional practices in EI/ECSE (pp. 297-329). Santa Barbara: Praeger.
Ferrell, K. A. (2010). Visual development in normal and low vision children. In A. Corn, & J. Erin (Eds.), Foundations of low vision: Clinical and functional perspectives (2d ed.) (pp. 299-338). New York: AFB Press.
Richert, M., LeMoine, B., Kelly, S., & Ferrell, K. (2009). Appendix A: It's the law: Q&A about assistive technology and special education. In Presley, I. & D'Andrea, F.M., Assistive technology for students who are blind or visually impaired: A guide to assessment (pp. 408-415). New York, NY: AFB Press.
Ferrell, K. A. (2006). Your child's development. In M. C. Holbrook (Ed.), Children with visual impairment: A parents' guide (2d ed.) (pp. 85-108). Rockville, MD: Woodbine House.
Rude, H. A., & Ferrell, K. A. (2006). Online delivery of low-incidence programs to meet statewide and national needs. In B. Ludlow, B. Collins, & R. Menlove, Online instruction for distance education delivery: Preparing special educators in and for rural areas[ACRES Monograph Series] (pp. 98-111). Victoria, BC: Trafford Publishing.
Ferrell, K. A., & Griego, P. (2001). Gays and lesbians with visual impairment. In M. Milian & J. Erin (Eds.), Diversity and visual impairment: The influence of race, gender, religion, and ethnicity on the individual (pp. 315-340). New York AFB Press.
Juried Articles
Ferrell, K. A., Correa-Torres, S. M., Zebehazy, K. T., Monson, M., & Blackorby, J. (2011). A brief look at students with visual impairments in the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS). Manuscript submitted for publication.
Gould, B., Ferrell, K. A., O’Connell, T. (2009). Accessible science: How to describe STEM images. AER Journal: Research and Practice in Visual Impairment and Blindness, 2(1), 52-54.
Spungin, S. J., & Ferrell, K. A. (2007). The role and function of the teacher of students with visual handicaps: CEC-DVI position statement [Adopted by the Division on Visual Impairments of the Council for Exceptional Children]. Retrieved October 16, 2007 at
Ferrell, K. A. (2006). Evidence-based practices for students with visual disabilities. Communication Disorders
Quarterly, 28(1), 42-48.
Ferrell, K. A. (2005). The effects of NCLB. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99. Available at
Ferrell, K. A. (2005, March). Jenseits des klassenzimmers. Sehbehindert, 125, 151-154.
Rude, H., Jackson, L. B., Correa, S. M., Luckner, J. L., Muir, S. L., & Ferrell, K. A. (2005). Perceived needs of students with low-incidence disabilities in rural areas. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 24(3), 3-14.
Bowen, S., & Ferrell, K. A. (2003). Assessment in low-incidence disabilities: The day-to-day realities. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 22(4), 10-19.
Ferrell, K. A. (2003). Issues in the field of blindness and low vision. Published online at
Ferrell, K. A., Persichitte, K. A., Lowell, N., & Roberts, S. (2001). The evolution of a distance delivery system that supports content, learners, and pedagogy. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 95, 597-608.
Juried Special/Technical Reports
Ferrell, K. A., Dozier, C., & Monson, M. (2011). A meta-analysis of educational applications of low vision research [Technical Report]. Greeley, CO: University of Northern Colorado.
Ferrell, K. A., Mason, L., Young, J., & Cooney, J. (2006). Forty years of literacy research in blindness and visual impairment [Technical Report]. Greeley, CO: University of Northern Colorado, National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities. Available at
Ferrell, K. A., Buettel, M., Sebald, A. M., & Pearson, R. (2006). American Printing House for the Blind mathematics research analysis [Technical Report). Greeley, CO: University of Northern Colorado, National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities. Available at
Juried Proceedings
Ferrell, K. A. (2006). Meta-analysis of the research literature in literacy and mathematics to determine best practices for students with visual impairments. Proceedings of the 12th World Conference of the International Council for Education of Persons with Visual Impairment, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. [CD]
Non-Juried Articles
Ferrell, K. A., & Siller, M. A. (2008). Background of the description key. Retrieved from
Ferrell, K. A. (2007). This mattered to me. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 101, 727-728. [Invited]
Ferrell, K. A., & Stotland, J. L. (2007). It takes a city. DVI Quarterly, 52(3), 7-9. [Invited]
Gibboney, R. E., & Ferrell, K. A. (2006, Fall). “Vit” and “Big Jim” remember Michener. James A. Michener Society Newsletter, 1-2.
Ferrell, K. A., & Sacks, S. (2006). Speaker’s corner: Are we ready for related services? Do we want to be? Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 100, 603-605/
Ferrell, K. A. (2006). The evolution of evidence-based practice in education: What do we know, and how do we know it? EnVision, 11(1), 16-17. [Invited]
Ferrell, K. A. (2005). The impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on children with visual disabilities. Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, 99, 681-683.
Ferrell, K. A. (2004, Fall). What every administrator should know about students with visual impairments. Counterpoint, p. 8.
Ferrell, K. A., Luckner, J. L., & Muir, S. A. (2004, Spring). “Can children with low-incidence disabilities be left behind?” Counterpoint, p. 10.
Ferrell, K. A. (2003). Promises to keep: Early education in the United States. The Educator, XV, pp. [Invited]
Non-Juried Special/Technical Reports
Ferrell, K. A. (2008, December). WGBH STEM project, end user survey data analysis. Available from National Center for Accessible Media, WGBH, Boston, MA.
Ferrell, K. A. (2008, September). Results of AFB field trials, Described and Captioned Media Program. Available from American Foundation for the Blind, Public Policy Center, Washington, DC.
Ferrell, K. A., & Siller, M. A. (2008, September). Description guidelines. Available from the Described and Captioned Media Program (
Ferrell, K. A., Finnerty, M., & Monson, M. (2008). Meta-analysis of the descriptive video literature: Technical report.Retrieved from
Ferrell, K. A. (2007, October). WGBH STEM Delphi study results. Available from the National Center for Accessible Media, Boston, MA.
Ferrell, K. A., Jackson, L. B., & Luckner, J. L. (2003, November). Charting the future: The National Center on Low-Incidence Disabilities. Greeley, CO: University of Northern Colorado.
Ferrell, K. A., Jackson, L.B., & Luckner, J. L. (2003, June 30). Master’s degree in special education, emphasis in low-incidence disabilities (Second Year Report, 2001 Program of Excellence Award). Denver, CO: Colorado Commission on Higher Education.
Ferrell, K. A., Jackson, L.B., & Luckner, J. L. (2002, June 30). Master’s degree in special education, emphasis in low-incidence disabilities (First Year Report, 2001 Program of Excellence Award). Denver, CO: Colorado Commission on Higher Education.