In understanding the nature of contrast in the emerging field of neutral helium microscopy, it is important to identify if there is an atom-surface scattering distribution that can be expected to apply broadly across a range of sample surfaces. Here we present results acquired in a scanning helium microscope (SHeM) under typical operating conditions, from a range of surfaces in their native state, i.e. without any specialist sample preparation. We observe diffuse scattering, with an approximately cosine distribution centred about the surface normal. The 'cosine-like' distribution is markedly different from those distributions observed from the well-prepared, atomically pristine, surfaces typically studied in helium atom scattering experiments. Knowledge of the typical scattering distribution in SHeM experiments provides a starting basis for interpretation of topographic contrast in images, as well as a reference against which more exotic contrast mechanisms can be compared.