a strange part of the diagnostics.

You need to point out that she is Canadian.

I know what the thinking is there though.  Often neurodivergent kids speak with an accent which is not like either their family or peers, but more akin to whatever they have been watching on TV.  It's because they learn by copying and their learning is not driven by the need for social contact and acceptance as with other children. The process is called Echolalia.

This phenomenon applies to me too.  I had very early speech development but, learned my studying mouths very intensely and mimicking lip movement until perfect then each word first time out sounded like an adult. I by passed the normal stages and clumsy attempts at words that most kids try. 

At school I was then bullied for "sounding posh"; my accent is very non-descript standard English without a trace of the strong local accent or my Geordie parents and I must have modelled on the BBC children's programming at the time, taking that as my proper reference for getting it right. 

The question to ask yourself about your daughter is: does she sound exactly like her mother's family?  Or is it a more vague, neutral trans-Atlantic accent, like she might hear on the TV?  Even so, where was she born/ how long has she been in the UK and how old is she? These things are also relevant. If she has been at school in the UK a year or so or otherwise mixing with UK kids, you would expect a young non-neurodivergent child to begin speak like their local peers quite quickly; not either of their parents no matter how different their accent is from their peers.  It's called Bell's Accommodation Theory:  People generally adapt their language to match their peer group and in order to get on with them.  It's a sub-conscious process that starts very early. But autistic kids, don't necessarily do that; continuing to copy the radio or the telly rather than their peers.

However, if she has hit adolescence, her speech patterns may be more fixed and it less likely the accent will change, whether autistic or not. 

It could be that your daughter speaks like a Canadian, because she is Canadian and has not yet spent a lot of time with Brits, but if she HAS and her accent has not changed, that could be significant for the assessors.

I can see why they are noting her accent and they should be looking at that not just in relation to her family, but also her age and time of exposure to UK varieties of English etc.

Echolalia isn't universal in autism, but it is common and noting her accent would indicate to me that they are considering the possibility of it's presence.

You need to point out that she is Canadian.

I know what the thinking is there though.  Often neurodivergent kids speak with an accent which is not like either their family or peers, but more akin to whatever they have been watching on TV.  It's because they learn by copying and their learning is not driven by the need for social contact and acceptance as with other children. The process is called Echolalia.

This phenomenon applies to me too.  I had very early speech development but, learned my studying mouths very intensely and mimicking lip movement until perfect then each word first time out sounded like an adult. I by passed the normal stages and clumsy attempts at words that most kids try. 

At school I was then bullied for "sounding posh"; my accent is very non-descript standard English without a trace of the strong local accent or my Geordie parents and I must have modelled on the BBC children's programming at the time, taking that as my proper reference for getting it right. 

The question to ask yourself about your daughter is: does she sound exactly like her mother's family?  Or is it a more vague, neutral trans-Atlantic accent, like she might hear on the TV?  Even so, where was she born/ how long has she been in the UK and how old is she? These things are also relevant. If she has been at school in the UK a year or so or otherwise mixing with UK kids, you would expect a young non-neurodivergent child to begin speak like their local peers quite quickly; not either of their parents no matter how different their accent is from their peers.  It's called Bell's Accommodation Theory:  People generally adapt their language to match their peer group and in order to get on with them.  It's a sub-conscious process that starts very early. But autistic kids, don't necessarily do that; continuing to copy the radio or the telly rather than their peers.

However, if she has hit adolescence, her speech patterns may be more fixed and it less likely the accent will change, whether autistic or not. 

It could be that your daughter speaks like a Canadian, because she is Canadian and has not yet spent a lot of time with Brits, but if she HAS and her accent has not changed, that could be significant for the assessors.

I can see why they are noting her accent and they should be looking at that not just in relation to her family, but also her age and time of exposure to UK varieties of English etc.

Echolalia isn't universal in autism, but it is common and noting her accent would indicate to me that they are considering the possibility of it's presence.

Hi Dawn, 
It is actually in Ireland, Her mother has a very pronounced Canadian accent and she does not watch TV or radio as we do not have one here. She is 7 years old and does not match kids accents unless it is in school which they are all irish and a mixture of that would be well the leprachaun accent in a way. She mainly likes to stay at home with us and do her own thing with art or play ball in the garden so there is literally no influence. 

She was born in Caada and lived there for 4 yars and this will be her 4th year here so it half and half.