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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Apr 1.
Published in final edited form as: Appl Neuropsychol Child. 2016 Nov 14;7(2):93–109. doi: 10.1080/21622965.2016.1248557
Never (Not a problem; Average for age) Sometimes (A little more than average; Not a big problem) Often (Causes problems; Happens almost everyday) Very often (Major daily problem)

Cognitive Learning:
Comprehension and Conceptual Learning
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t seem to understand things that are said to him/her
0 1 2 3 Has difficulty following long conversations or explanations.
0 1 2 3 Poor comprehension of reading material.
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t “get the point” of what is being said.
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t really understand new learning materials.
Factual Memory
0 1 2 3 Difficulty memorizing information.
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t retain facts well.
0 1 2 3 Has poor memory.
0 1 2 3 Forgets things that he/she has just learned.
0 1 2 3 Remembers the main idea but forgets details.
Cognitive-EF:
Attention
0 1 2 3 Poor attention span.
0 1 2 3 Mind seems to drift or wander when he/she is suppose to concentrate.
0 1 2 3 Does not stay focused on learning material.
0 1 2 3 Easily distracted.
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t listen when others are teaching or talking to him/her.
Processing Speed
0 1 2 3 Has trouble completing work quickly, even when motivated to do well.
0 1 2 3 Works deliberately and slowly on schoolwork and homework.
0 1 2 3 Writes and/or reads slowly.
0 1 2 3 Needs extra time to complete tests or other work.
0 1 2 3 Is slow to get started on things.
Visual-Spatial Organization
0 1 2 3 Poor organization.
0 1 2 3 Room, desk, locker, work area, etc. is very messy.
0 1 2 3 Not very good with puzzles or putting things together.
0 1 2 3 Drawing and/or handwriting is poor.
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t pay attention to visual details in the environment.
Sustained Sequential Processing
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t plan ahead.
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t learn from punishment or other past experiences.
0 1 2 3 Has trouble with long assignments or multistep directions.
0 1 2 3 Loses track of step-by-step directions.
0 1 2 3 Doesn’t complete tasks in proper order; Haphazard in approaching problems.
Working Memory
0 1 2 3 Can’t do more than one thing at a time.
0 1 2 3 Gets overwhelmed if required to learn or attend to a lot of information.
0 1 2 3 If distracted, loses track of what he/she was doing/learning.
0 1 2 3 Forgets things that he/she knew how to do a few hours or days before.
0 1 2 3 Gets upset or “shuts down” when challenged with learning.
Novel Problem-Solving
0 1 2 3 Struggles when learning new materials.
0 1 2 3 Does not solve problems independently (needs help on new problems).
0 1 2 3 Resists learning anything that is unfamiliar, new, or different.
0 1 2 3 Has difficulty with new situations, new people, or unfamiliar settings.
0 1 2 3 Avoids new experiences.
Academic:
Mathematics Skills
0 1 2 3 Math is difficult for him/her.
0 1 2 3 Slow at math.
0 1 2 3 Makes mistakes during arithmetic calculations or counting.
0 1 2 3 Prefers reading and language subjects to math.
0 1 2 3 Takes a long time to learn new mathematics operations or concepts.
Basic Reading Skills
0 1 2 3 Reading is slow.
0 1 2 3 Has trouble sounding out new words when reading.
0 1 2 3 Reading is hesitant or choppy; doesn’t read smoothly.
0 1 2 3 Makes mistakes when sounding out or pronouncing words in reading.
0 1 2 3 Skips or mistakes words during reading.
Written Expression Skills
0 1 2 3 Writing is slow.
0 1 2 3 Written expression is very simple (basic, immature).
0 1 2 3 Makes errors in grammar, punctuation, or spelling when writing sentences.
0 1 2 3 Has difficulty explaining things or expressing self in writing.
0 1 2 3 Struggles with subjects that require writing.

Note. Subscales are indicated on this version of the LEAF for illustrative purposes. Please contact the authors for the administration version of the LEAF scale.

Criterion-referenced interpretation ranges (0 – 4 = “No Problem Range”; 5 – 9 = “Borderline Problem Range”; 10 – 15 = “Problem Range”)