Dyslexic children require special instruction for word analysis and spelling from an early age. While there are fonts that may help people with dyslexia better understand writing, this might simply be due to the added spacing between words. The prognosis, generally speaking, is positive for individuals who are identified in childhood and receive support from friends and family.

Hyperlexia is a syndrome characterized by a child's precocious ability to read. It was initially identified by Norman E. Silberberg and Margaret C. Silberberg (1967), who defined it as the precocious ability to read words without prior training in learning to read, typically before the age of 5. They indicated that children with hyperlexia have a significantly higher word-decoding ability than their reading comprehension levels. Children with hyperlexia also present with an intense fascination for written material at a very early age.

Hyperlexic children are characterized by having average or above-average IQs, and word-reading ability well above what would be expected given their age. First named and scientifically described in 1967 (Silverberg and Silverberg), it can be viewed as a superability in which word recognition ability goes far above expected levels of skill. Some hyperlexics, however, have trouble understanding speech. Some experts believe that most, or perhaps all children with hyperlexia, lie on the autism spectrum. However, one expert, Darold Treffert, proposes that hyperlexia has subtypes, only some of which overlap with autism. Between 5 and 20 percent of autistic children have been estimated to be hyperlexic.

Hyperlexic children are often fascinated by letters or numbers. They are extremely good at decoding language and thus often become very early readers. Some hyperlexic children learn to spell long words (such as "elephant") before they are two years old and learn to read whole sentences before they turn three.

An fMRI study of a single child showed that hyperlexia may be the neurological opposite of dyslexia.

A reading disability is a condition in which a sufferer displays difficulty reading resulting primarily from neurological factors. Developmental Dyslexia, Alexia (acquired dyslexia), and Hyperlexia (word-reading ability well above normal for age and IQ).

Language-based learning disabilities or LBLD are "heterogeneous" neurological differences that can affect skills such as listening, reasoning, speaking, reading, writing, and maths calculations. It is also associated with movement, coordination, and direct attention. LBLD is not usually identified until the child reaches school age. Most people with this disability find it hard to communicate, to express ideas efficiently and what they say may be ambiguous and hard to understand

It is a neurological difference. It is often hereditary, and is frequently associated to specific language problems.

There are two types of learning disabilities: non-verbal, which includes disabilities from psychomotor difficulties to dyscalculia, and verbal, language based.

In adults, many of the symptoms diminish over time. Although it has been suggested that a similar diminishing of symptoms occurs in children as well, it appears more likely that most do not overcome their deficits, but instead simply learn to adjust.

Deep dyslexia is a form of dyslexia that disrupts reading processes. Deep dyslexia may occur as a result of a head injury, stroke, disease, or operation. This injury results in the occurrence of semantic errors during reading and the impairment of nonword reading.

The term dyslexia comes from the Greek words 'dys' meaning 'impaired', and 'lexis' meaning 'word' and is used to describe disorders of language concerning reading and spelling.

Numerous models and hypotheses have been proposed in attempt to explain the broad range of symptoms experienced by deep dyslexics, but a definite consensus has yet to be reached. The proposed models and hypotheses have helped in treatment of some suffering patients, but only with certain specific symptoms. Additionally, the recovery seen is not experienced equally in all patients.

Surface dyslexia is a type of dyslexia, or reading disorder. According to Marshall & Newcombe's (1973) and McCarthy & Warrington's study (1990), patients with this kind of disorder cannot recognize a word as a whole due to the damage of the left parietal or temporal lobe. Individuals with surface dyslexia are unable to recognize a word as a whole word and retrieve its pronunciation from memory. Rather, individuals with surface dyslexia rely on pronunciation rules. Thus, patients with this particular type of reading disorder read non-words fluently, like "yatchet", but struggle with words that defy pronunciation rules (i.e. exception words). For example, a patient with surface dyslexia can correctly read regular words like "mint", but will err when presented a word that disobeys typical pronunciation rules, like "pint". Often, semantic knowledge is preserved in individuals with surface dyslexia.

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines reading disability or dyslexia as follows: "Dyslexia is a brain-based type of learning disability that specifically impairs a person's ability to read. These individuals typically read at levels significantly lower than expected despite having normal intelligence. Although the disorder varies from person to person, common characteristics among people with dyslexia are difficulty with spelling, phonological processing (the manipulation of sounds), and/or rapid visual-verbal responding. In adults, dyslexia usually occurs after a brain injury or in the context of dementia. It can also be inherited in some families, and recent studies have identified a number of genes that may predispose an individual to developing dyslexia."

The NINDS definition is not in keeping with the bulk of scientific studies that conclude that there is no evidence to suggest that dyslexia and intelligence are related. The Rose Review 2009 Definition is more in keeping with modern research and debunked discrepancy model of dyslexia diagnosis:

- Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that primarily affects the skills involved in accurate and fluent word reading and spelling.

- Characteristic features of dyslexia are difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal memory and verbal processing speed.

- Dyslexia occurs across the range of intellectual abilities.

- It is best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and there are no clear cut-off points.

- Co-occurring difficulties may be seen in aspects of language, motor co-ordination, mental calculation, concentration and personal organisation, but these are not, by themselves, markers of dyslexia.

- A good indication of the severity and persistence of dyslexic difficulties can be gained by examining how the individual responds or has responded to well founded intervention.

Semantic dyslexia is, as the name suggests, a subtype of the group of cognitive disorders known as alexia (acquired dyslexia). Those who suffer from semantic dyslexia are unable to properly attach words to their meanings in reading and/or speech. When confronted with the word "diamond", they may understand it as "sapphire", "shiny" or "diamonds"; when asking for a bus ticket, they may ask for some paper or simply "a thing".

Semantic dementia (SD) is a degenerative disease characterized by atrophy of anterior temporal regions (the primary auditory cortex; process auditory information) and progressive loss of semantic memory. SD patients often present with surface dyslexia, a relatively selective impairment in reading low-frequency words with exceptional or atypical spelling-to-sound correspondences.

Phonological dyslexia is a reading disability that is a form of alexia (acquired dyslexia), resulting from brain injury, stroke, or progressive illness and that affects previously acquired reading abilities. The major distinguishing symptom of acquired phonological dyslexia is that a selective impairment of the ability to read pronounceable non-words occurs although the ability to read familiar words is not affected. It has also been found that the ability to read non-words can be improved if the non-words belong to a family of pseudohomophones.

Pure alexia results from cerebral lesions in circumscribed brain regions and therefore belongs to the group of acquired reading disorders, alexia, as opposed to developmental dyslexia found in children who have difficulties in learning to read.

Through the use of compensation strategies, therapy and educational support, dyslexic individuals can learn to read and write. There are techniques and technical aids which help to manage or conceal symptoms of the disorder. Removing stress and anxiety alone can sometimes improve written comprehension. For dyslexia intervention with alphabet-writing systems, the fundamental aim is to increase a child's awareness of correspondences between graphemes (letters) and phonemes (sounds), and to relate these to reading and spelling by teaching how sounds blend into words. It has been found that reinforced collateral training focused on reading and spelling yields longer-lasting gains than oral phonological training alone. Early intervention that is done for children at a young age can be successful in reducing reading failure.

There is some evidence that the use of specially-tailored fonts may help with dyslexia. These fonts, which include Dyslexie, OpenDyslexic, and Lexia Readable, were created based on the idea that many of the letters of the Latin alphabet are visually similar and may, therefore, confuse people with dyslexia. Dyslexie and OpenDyslexic both put emphasis on making each letter more distinctive in order to be more easily identified. The benefits, however, might simply be due to the added spacing between words.

There have been many studies conducted regarding intervention in dyslexia. Among these studies one meta-analysis found that there was functional activation as a result.

There is no evidence demonstrating that the use of music education is effective in improving dyslexic adolescents' reading skills.

In one paper, Darold Treffert proposes three types of hyperlexia. Specifically:

- Type 1: Neurotypical children who are very early readers.

- Type 2: Children on the autism spectrum who demonstrate very early reading as a splinter skill.

- Type 3: Very early readers who are not on the autism spectrum though there are some "autistic-like" traits and behaviours which gradually fade as the child gets older.

A different paper by Rebecca Williamson Brown, OD proposes only two types of hyperlexia. These are:

- Type 1: Hyperlexia marked by an accompanying language disorder.

- Type 2: Hyperlexia marked by an accompanying visual-spatial learning disorder.

There are few reports of the syndrome, sometimes called developmental Gerstmann syndrome, in children. The cause is not known. Most cases are identified when children reach school age, a time when they are challenged with writing and math exercises. Generally, children with the disorder exhibit poor handwriting and spelling skills, and difficulty with math functions, including adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing. An inability to differentiate right from left and to discriminate among individual fingers may also be apparent. In addition to the four primary symptoms, many children also suffer from constructional apraxia, an inability to copy simple drawings. Frequently, there is also an impairment in reading. Children with a high level of intellectual functioning as well as those with brain damage may be affected with the disorder.

Pure alexia, also known as agnosic alexia or alexia without agraphia or pure word blindness, is one form of alexia which makes up "the peripheral dyslexia" group. Individuals who have pure alexia suffer from severe reading problems while other language-related skills such as naming, oral repetition, auditory comprehension or writing are typically intact.

Pure alexia is also known as: "alexia without agraphia", "letter-by-letter dyslexia", "spelling dyslexia", or "word-form dyslexia". Another name for it is "Dejerine syndrome", after Joseph Jules Dejerine, who described it in 1892; however, when using this name, it should not be confused with medial medullary syndrome which shares the same eponym.

LBLD can be an enduring problem. Some people might experience overlapping learning disabilities that make improvement problematic. Others with single disabilities often show more improvement. Most subjects can achieve literacy via coping mechanisms and education.

Deep dyslexia is usually classified as an "acquired reading disorder", as opposed to a "developmental dyslexia", in previously literate adults as a consequence of a brain injury. However, recently, developmental deep dyslexia has also been reported in children with Williams syndrome.

Deep dyslexia is considered to be a "central dyslexia" as compared to a "peripheral dyslexia". Peripheral dyslexics have difficulty matching the visual characteristics of letters that comprise a word to a stored memory of this word from prior encounters. Central dyslexics are unable to properly match the visual word to the word's meaning. They may also be incapable of speaking, or phonating, the sequence of written letters that they see into the word these letters represent. Deep dyslexia differs from other forms of central dyslexia (phonological dyslexia and surface dyslexia) in that deep dyslexics have many more symptoms and these symptoms are generally more severe. According to the "continuum" hypothesis, deep dyslexia is a more severe form of phonological dyslexia.

Interventions include:

- Mastery model:

- Learners work at their own level of mastery.

- Practice

- Gain fundamental skills before moving onto the next level

- Note: this approach is most likely to be used with adult learners or outside the mainstream school system.

- Direct instruction:

- Emphasizes carefully planned lessons for small learning increments

- Scripted lesson plans

- Rapid-paced interaction between teacher and students

- Correcting mistakes immediately

- Achievement-based grouping

- Frequent progress assessments

- Classroom adjustments:

- Special seating assignments

- Alternative or modified assignments

- Modified testing procedures

- Quiet environment

- Special equipment:

- Word processors with spell checkers and dictionaries

- Text-to-speech and speech-to-text programs

- Talking calculators

- Books on tape

- Computer-based activities

- Classroom assistants:

- Note-takers

- Readers

- Proofreaders

- Scribes

- Special education:

- Prescribed hours in a resource room

- Placement in a resource room

- Enrollment in a special school for learning disabled students

- Individual education plan (IEP)

- Educational therapy

Sternberg has argued that early remediation can greatly reduce the number of children meeting diagnostic criteria for learning disabilities. He has also suggested that the focus on learning disabilities and the provision of accommodations in school fails to acknowledge that people have a range of strengths and weaknesses, and places undue emphasis on academic success by insisting that people should receive additional support in this arena but not in music or sports. Other research has pinpointed the use of resource rooms as an important—yet often politicized component of educating students with learning disabilities.

Deficits in any area of information processing can manifest in a variety of specific learning disabilities. It is possible for an individual to have more than one of these difficulties. This is referred to as comorbidity or co-occurrence of learning disabilities. In the UK, the term "dual diagnosis" is often used to refer to co-occurrence of learning difficulties.

The most frequent cause of the syndrome is brain damage to the frontal lobe. Brain damage leading to the dysexecutive pattern of symptoms can result from physical trauma such as a blow to the head or a stroke or other internal trauma.

It is important to note that frontal lobe damage is not the only cause of the syndrome. It has been shown that damage, such as lesions, in other areas of the brain may indirectly affect executive functions and lead to similar symptoms. There is not one specific pattern of damage that leads to DES, as multiple affected brain structures and locations have led to the symptoms. This is one reason why the term frontal lobe syndrome is not preferred.

Several studies have found that different levels of brain damage can lead to the occurrence of varying forms of non-word reading disorders. It has been found that during certain tasks, dyslexics had activated one of two regions of the brain: the Broca's area, which is responsible for speech, or the Wernicke's area, which is responsible for forming and understanding. Both areas were seldom active together. This study has led to the conclusion that there exist neural connection breakdowns between the language centers that may be causing dyslexia.

Certain drugs have been known to induce hypergraphia including donepezil. In one case study, a patient taking donepezil reported an elevation in mood and energy levels which led to hypergraphia and other excessive forms of speech (such as singing). Six other cases of patients taking donepezil and experiencing mania have been previously reported. These patients also had cases of dementia, cognitive impairment from a cerebral aneurysm, bipolar I disorder, and/or depression. Researchers are unsure why donepezil can induce mania and hypergraphia. It could potentially result from an increase in acetylcholine levels, which would have an effect on the other neurotransmitters in the brain.

Another potential cause of hypergraphia is from one of the body's neurotransmitters, dopamine (DA). Dopamine has been known to decrease latent inhibition, which causes a decrease in the ability to habituate to different stimuli. Low latent inhibition leads to an excessive level of stimulation and could contribute to the onset of hypergraphia and general creativity. This research implies that there is a direct correlation between the levels of DA between neuronal synapses and the level of creativity exhibited by the patient. DA agonists increase the levels of DA between synapses which results in higher levels of creativity, and the opposite is true for DA antagonists.

DES often occurs with other disorders, which is known as comorbidity. Many studies have examined the presence of DES in patients with schizophrenia. Results of schizophrenic patients on the "Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS)" test (discussed below) are comparable to brain injured patients. Further, results of BADS have been shown to correlate with phases of schizophrenia. Patients in the chronic phase of the disorder have significantly lower scores than those who are acute. This is logical due to the similarities in executive disruptions that make everyday life difficult for those with schizophrenia and symptoms that form DES.

Patients with Alzheimer's disease have been shown to exhibit impairment in executive functioning as well. The effects of DES symptoms on the executive functions and working memory, such as attentiveness, planning and remembering recently learned things, are some of the earliest indicators of Alzheimer's.

Studies have also indicated that chronic alcoholism (see Korsakoff's syndrome) can lead to a mild form of DES according to results of BADS.

Some studies have demonstrated improvements in reading and spelling performance of individual children with surface dyslexia. Many of the interventions that exist are based on the dual route model of reading and utilize a targeted approach based on the individual assessment results.

Case studies conducted by Law and Cupples (2015) recommend first identifying specific oral reading difficulties experienced by the individual with surface dyslexia and based on the reading patterns identified designing a theoretically motivated and targeted treatment program. One of the interventions involved targeting visual-orthographic processing by increasing the efficiency by which surface dyslexics identified nonwords. The second intervention involved training in the identification and decoding of common letter patterns in irregular words.

Hypergraphia is a behavioral condition characterized by the intense desire to write or draw. Forms of hypergraphia can vary in writing style and content. It is a symptom associated with temporal lobe changes in epilepsy, which is the cause of the Geschwind syndrome, a mental disorder. Structures that may have an effect on hypergraphia when damaged due to temporal lobe epilepsy are the hippocampus and Wernicke's area. Aside from temporal lobe epilepsy, chemical causes may be responsible for inducing hypergraphia.