how do I find out of my daughter has/can get it?
If your daughter
has type 1 diabetes you are not likely to not know, it's an acute onset condition and, untreated, is fatal. You don't have type 1 and sit around not knowing about it for years.
There is a global network of clinical trials for first degree relatives of people with type 1 diabetes. Type 1 is an autoimmune disease, so they test relatives (siblings, children) to see if they have the antibodies associated with type 1. If the antibodies show up then they know there is a very high risk of an eventual type 1 diagnosis, so they keep a much closer eye on blood sugar levels so diagnosis can happen in a much calmer way than the usual blue lights to A&E in DKA scenario. They can also put those individuals on various drug therapies to try to prolong the beta cell life.
It's called trial net, a clinical trial safety net -
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/media-library/sites/clinical-sciences/migrated/documents/factsheet.pdf
What are the main differences
Type 2 is a metabolic condition where the body cannot process what is eaten because of insulin resistance.
Type 1 is an autoimmune disease where the immune system has killed off the beta cells in the pancreas that make insulin. So type 1 is not associated with insulin resistance - it's not metabolic, it's a lack of production of insulin. This is replaced by injecting insulin.
Until I see a diabetic specialist Im on tablets, will this still help?
No. Not really, type 1 diabetes is treated with insulin. What tablets are you on? When are you seeing the specialist? Do you have a means to test for ketones in the meantime?
You might want to get hold of the book "think like a pancreas" by Gary Scheiner, it a great guide to the basics you need to know to manage type 1 diabetes with insulin.