MASKING LEVEL DIFFERENCES AND BINAURAL INTELLIGIBILITY LEVEL DIFFERENCES IN CHILDREN WITH DOWN SYNDROME By

iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research project represents the culmination of an enriched academic experience that was facilitated by the members of my dissertation committee. First, I would like to thank Dr. Anne Marie Tharpe for providing her expertise in pediatric audiology and serving as the chair of my dissertation committee. She has been an active source of encouragement throughout my program and is an exemplary role model. I am also extraordinarily grateful to Dr. D. Wesley Grantham for providing his expertise in psychophysiology and for the countless hours he patiently volunteered to our programming sessions. I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work closely with him and learned at least as much about kindness as I did about programming. I am grateful to Dr. Daniel H. Ashmead for proving ongoing methodological and statistical insights. In addition, I am grateful to him as he posed a question on my qualifying exam that prompted this examination of the binaural hearing abilities of children with Down syndrome. Dr. Robert Hodapp was a steady source of insight regarding children with Down syndrome and their families and I am fortunate to have had his participation on my committee. His welcoming demeanor helped build a natural bridge to relationships with other researchers, service providers, students, and families within the Down syndrome community. It is also important to express my gratitude for the consistent encouragement and support Dr. Fred Bess has provided since I arrived at Vanderbilt. I have been personally and intellectually enriched by our frequent coffee talks and hope that I have learned half as much as I know he tried to teach me. I am grateful for the loving support of my family. My parents, Jim and Deb, always encouraged us to get out on stage and my sisters, Jessica and Colleen, have been there since to make me remember how funny the costumes looked. Together, they have taught me to provide iv my honest and full participation in life tempered by a healthy dose of humility. In addition, I am lucky to have married my best friend. Raz has helped me grow since the day I met him and I look forward to spending the rest of our lives together.