An acquired neurological disorder characterized by difficulty reading, writing, and understanding conversations, while speech remains intact, most likely indicates which condition?

• A. Dementia
• B. Aphasia
• C. Apraxia of Speech
• D. Dysarthria

Answer: (B)

Aphasia is the language impairment that fits this pattern. It results from damage to language centers in the brain and affects reading, writing, and understanding spoken language, while the ability to produce fluent speech can be relatively preserved depending on the type. The key clue is that comprehension and literacy are disrupted, but speech remains intact, pointing to a language-processing problem rather than a motor speech disorder. Disorders like apraxia of speech or dysarthria directly impair the act of speaking itself, and dementia typically shows broader cognitive decline rather than a isolated language profile with preserved speech. So the combination described best aligns with aphasia.