First autism assessment for DD next week. Very anxious. What to expect?

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I'm a bit anxious tonight. 7yo DD has her first autism assessment next week. The school have pushed for this as she has been quite disrupted these last two years and is prone to emotional outbursts (never violent to herself or others, just trying to run out of class, screaming, crying, refusing to work, sensory issues etc). I had hoped it would get better in time but she was put on the SEN register at Christmas time and the school suggested a referral be made.
Does anyone know what to expect at this initial appointment? What kinds of things she will be asked, and her father and I? Also will they diagnose her based on this appointment or will it be a much longer process? I don't feel I have as much information as I need. It has been a difficult summer and suddenly I just don't feel prepared at all. Having a bit of a panic attack about it if I'm honest!
Thanks

Hello, don't panic! They will probably observe your child and ask you to fill in some questionnaires. And take a history. It's nothing to worry about. Don't expect to get an answer straight away though. It's in your DDs best interests to get a diagnosis if she does have autism or another underlying issue.

Our first appointment was a chat with CAMHS healthcare professional who is also a therapist (though DC was a bit older at that point). It lasted well over an hour, so leave yourselves plenty of time around the appointment. There was a lot of discussion of anecdotes from childhood. It was the first stage in a quite lengthy process of assessment and diagnosis, we went on another waiting list after that.

I filled in a lot of assessment forms along the way also - have you been asked to do any of those? If so, you are likely to have discussions along the same lines as the questions on the form/s.

Try not to worry. The main thing is to be as honest as possible and give as much detail as you can. They will ask about things like routines, language, things she finds hard, things she enjoys and any concerns you have around any sensory issues, social communication and any repetitive or unusual play. They can make a diagnosis after one appointment, I have seen this quite often in our LA (Southwark).

If school have different concerns to you, that's fine - I am sure you know that children with autism can behave very differently at home and at school so it's very common for parents not to see school behaviour and vice versa.

The main thing to remember is the diagnosis doesn't change the child, she is still your same DD but the diagnosis will come with recommendations to help support her, which will help in the long run. Then if you and school decide to go for the EHCP in due course it will set out what school will be obliged to do for her so she will get better support.

And try not to worry! It's also quite common for children to behave differently in the appointment to school or home, so the practitioner will be basing their diagnosis on what they see, what you say and what school have reported.

No we've not filled in any forms at all. This is through CAHMS though.

Lots of history so have a think and make notes.
Dd did get informally diagnosed at the first appointment but that wasn't routine.

I ran an assessment team before retiring. We are nice people and want to help your child achieve the best possible outcomes. Some of us are autistic too!
I don’t know anywhere that would give you a dx on initial meeting, however it is possible that we may say, actually this isn’t autism. If that happens our particular team would not go onto say what our thoughts were. Some do, others don’t.
We would like a familial history, not just your child but how you got on at school, socially etc and anything you know about the child’s grandparents. Eg do you think it’s possible one of you or your partner’s parents is autistic, if so why?
Take it slow, don’t be rushed. If often suggests that you make a note of questions you may want answered before hand and that your partner takes a note of the answers.