and a big thank you for all of your input, much appreciated!!

An update, the speech therapist came out today and did an assessment at home, she was lovely and had some great ideas for me She is going to go and visit DS at his kindy in a few weeks and observe him there and then will meet with us again with a plan for him.  She actually thought he was doing pretty well and had progressed quite a bit since his last assessment with MOE back in June so that was great to hear!

Hey Char, in regards to his hearing and getting an appointment to see the ENT specialist... with Gia we paid to see a specialist instead of waiting to go public (unless you have health insurance then that will cover it).  It was $160 but we got an appointment about a week after the Dr referred her (she had ear infection after ear infection so needed grommets but public waiting list is over 6 months long!)  So once she was seen and she had glue ear in both ears she was then put on public waiting list for grommets which was about 3 months wait.  But getting to see the specialist so fast helped get her on the list faster.

Glad to hear you've already got in touch with MOE and can get him seen soon!

Just found the book on Trade me!

He had issues with recurrent ear infections as a baby which is why I was always aware that he could possibly have hearing probs in the future, my plunket nurse was great at getting him referred to audiology at the hospital.  Now that he is nearly 3 though it is a bit more obvious that his speech isnt where it should be. 

Thanks Linda, what kind of issues was your son having with his speech? (if you dont mind me asking). 

Thanks for the link Shelt, will go check it out!!

Kiwi2 I think it is because of his age, there is such a huge waiting list for under 3s and they are so shortstaffed 

oh and thanks for your input ladies, it is scary thinking my baby may not be able to hear properly and I want to do anything I can to help him develop his speech

Kiwi2 did your daughter have glue ear?  That was the only definite thing they could tell us - he doesn't have glue ear or any fluid issues, they did think from his tests that there was possibly some kind of what they called "minor" hearing loss, its so hard to know exactly what that means though!  So glad your daughter caught up, that is great!

Flissty yep the waiting lists for anything are huge here in Hawkes Bay - it stinks!

Thanks guys Freckle I could hug you, just ran MOE and spoke to a lovely lady, she is sending out the forms, apparently if I get them back fast he could been seen as early as the end of Feb so I am thrilled!!  I had no idea you could refer yourself, that has sped the process up hugely so thank you!!

Thanks Flissty  I have no idea at this stage whether MOE or hospital, he is seeing plunket on the 10th Feb, she wanted to wait til he was 3 to see him.  It does sound like it will be  huge help, do you think it is possible to get him assessed privately?  The waiting lists here are HUGE, esp for under 3's, hence the wait for his hearing reassessment and we are happy to go private if it will get him seen earlier. 

I am wondering if anyone has any info or has been through speech therapy with their child?  DS will be 3 in a few weeks and his vocab is very limited, he has had his hearing tested through a plunket referral and they *think* he may have a mild hearing loss, it is very subjective though testing a little one, he will be retested whenever he comes up in their blimmen stupid waiting list but thats another rant!!  My plunket nurse is great and when I see her for his 3 year check she said she will do a referral for speech therapy, apparently he should now have around 300 words and be able to be understood by other adults This is obviously not the case and while I know all kids develop differently and this is just a guide I also know that he does have delayed speech and I am wanting to do anything I can to help him along.  He has made progress since he was first tested in august but his speech is still limited to one or 2 words at a time. 

Would love to hear any advice or experiences