Natural Environment Using Scale (NEUS) for Children Aged 0 to 6 in Early Intervention and Special Education Services: A Validity and Reliability Study in Turkey

This study presents the development, validation, and reliability of the Natural Environment Using Scale (NEUS), which is a parent-report evaluation of the natural environment (NE), in Turkey, in children aged 0 to 6 with disabilities. The NEUS measures the frequency of parents’ use of NEs in early intervention and special education services. The first stage includes a pilot study, which involved 26 items generated from the current literature. Three items were removed based on calculated content validity indices and expert opinions in the pilot study. The main study form utilized comprised 23 items. The analysis yielded the following fit indices for the scale: RMSEA = 0.010, GFI = 0.93, CFI = 1.00. The Cronbach’s α was .79. Based on findings in the current study, we developed a valid and reliable scale comprising 22 items and three factors related to the daily life of children with disability (Physical Environment and Materials, Parenting Skills- Social Interaction, and Support Services). In the future, the NEUS can serve as a valuable scale for more targeted and effective family-centered interventions.