For many, cursive writing and block printing seem to elicit highly different decoding modes. For me, block printing presents few problems, and I can control whatever problems I may have. On the other hand, it takes such effort for me to read cursive script that I avoid doing so whenever possible. Whatever my problem with script may be, it cuts across symbol systems. I found it fairly simple to learn to read the equivalent of block printing in Russian, Greek, and Hebrew, but I have yet to crack the cursive writing code of any of the three.
Classic dyslexia has to be distinguished from simple illiteracy.
Some people are illiterate because they have not had an opportunity to learn to read. If that opportunity never comes, there is no way to know whether or not they may have dyslexia. On the other hand, some people with a sincere and strong desire to read fail to learn despite high intelligence, prolonged effort, and skilled teachers. By definition, they have dyslexia. He got around the problem easily because he could afford to hire people to handle all his paperwork and note-taking, and others to read aloud to him.