The Wollongong mum is not going to let dyslexia thwart that dream and hopes that other mums with dyslexic children can push past the struggle to get help early.

Eight-year-old Sam's dyslexia was identified last August.

Since Sam was in kindergarten, Helen observed his learning wasn't progressing well.

"There were gaps in his learning - I have an older son who was learning quite comfortably and I noticed there was too much of a difference," Helen says.

"His spelling was inconsistent - with basic words he'd get them right one day and then not the next."

Sam appears like any other healthy eight-year-old and he enjoys creating with Lego.

"He's really good socially and emotionally he's really together," Helen says.

"We've got to think of the positives and keep his self-esteem high."

Helen contacted the Australian Dyslexia Association to have Sam profiled and was provided with information for herself and Sam's school.

The association does not have a base in the Illawarra but Helen can get support via email or phone.

"Because of the travelling and the costs of the assessments, a lot of people don't get assessed," Helen says, adding that she finds it hard to talk to other parents about dyslexia or find others facing the same situation.

"I'm at the point where I want to explain it to the world, but at the same time protect my son."

Mackay teacher Brett Comerford, 52, is an example of how dyslexia can be overcome.

Comerford's dyslexia wasn't identified until he was 37. Now he is spreading the word that youngsters should look at their strengths, not weaknesses.

Comerford is an ADA diagnostician and an Multisensory Structured Language specialist. He wears coloured lenses to deal with scotopic sensitivity syndrome - some dyslexics see words jumping around a page. People living with dyslexia have the ability to learn but the teaching needs to be done in a different way.

* Helen and Sam's names have been changed to maintain anonymity