Referansevansker

Referansevansker, often translated as reference difficulties or problems with referring, describes a challenge in language processing where an individual struggles to correctly understand or use referring expressions. Referring expressions are words or phrases that point to or identify a person, place, or thing, such as pronouns (he, she, it), demonstratives (this, that), or definite noun phrases (the dog, John's car).

These difficulties can manifest in several ways. An individual might have trouble understanding who or what a pronoun refers to, leading to confusion when processing sentences. For example, in the sentence "Mary gave Sue the book, and she thanked her," a person with referansevansker might not know whether "she" refers to Mary or Sue, or who "her" is. Conversely, the difficulty can also involve producing correct referring expressions. This might mean overusing specific nouns instead of pronouns, or using pronouns incorrectly, causing ambiguity or miscommunication.

Referansevansker are not a diagnosis in themselves but can be a symptom or a characteristic associated with various developmental or acquired language disorders. These can include conditions like specific language impairment (SLI), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), or aphasia following a stroke or brain injury. The underlying cause influences the specific nature and severity of the referansevansker. Assessment and intervention by speech-language pathologists aim to improve comprehension and production of referring expressions to enhance overall communication effectiveness.