Possible autistic daughter

[collann]

Hi all
I'm quite new to this so please forgive me.
I had my youngest dd 9 years ago, she was born 5 weeks early due to difficult circumstances (I had cancer)
Growing up I always had a feeling she was different to my other children.
Never slept ,fussy eating, constantly needing attention slightly late hitting her milestones etc. I never discussed it with anyone just got on with it.
Since being at school she had struggled a bit as she is particularly sighted in one eye but no one ever said anything to me. She's quiet, polite, shy and pleasure to teach.
Anyway we moved house last year which meant she moved schools.
She's been really struggling with making friends and finding everything quite hard.
I mentioned it to her teacher who asked if I minded if we got senco involved as he had noticed some things.
The senco has been very helpful they did a Fact and Fact + as have I and we have both come up with similar answers. They suggested I make an appointment with my gp which I have.
But today my dd asked out of the blue if she has some 'needs'
We were in ikea toilets and the handlers were going off, she's always hated the noise of them and a flushing toilet. She covered her ears as usual but because it was very crowded she ran out of the toilet saying I'll meet you outside.
I truly apologise for the long post, as I said in the beginning I'm very new to this so if there is anyone that has any helpful advice I would be so grateful x

EDIT- I did originally post this on parenting page and was advised to post it here

A referral for an assessment sounds like a good idea. Would DD use noise cancelling headphones or ear defenders? If DD can’t cope with the hand dryers it would be OK to use the disabled toilets.

For DD’s eating, look at ARFID.

What support is the school providing? Has the specialist teaching service/QTVI been involved?

I was thinking of head phones and also she chews on things like Lego and hairbands looking into something for her to chew on for comfort
The school has done the Fact and Fact + and suggested a gp appointment which I have next week but other than that nothing more has been said
As I said I'm new to this so not sure of the procedure or where to go for help tbh x

For chewing, have a look at chewelry.

Support in school is based on needs, not diagnosis. The school should be providing support. For example, do they have anyone that does sensory circuits, do they allow sensory breaks (proper sensory breaks not half-hearted movement breaks), have they looked at the sensory environment in the classroom and seat placement? Do they have a nurture group, anyone who can support with friendships/social skills?

In some areas you can self refer. If you can’t the GP or school will be able to.