Oblivious

Yesterday Sara came home from school with a fever.  She was not all that sick but was not allowed back at school today because they need to be fever-free for 24 hours.  DH is in San Francisco and I HAD to go to work today.  We are already short staffed.  My wonderful mom offered to watch Sara at her house so I drove her up there yesterday.  It is about an hour drive away.  I drove her up there while the other kids were at school.  She was gone when they got home and of course all last evening.

This morning Alex said "Where is Sara?".  I was dumbfounded.  I know I had told the kids she was sick and at grandma's but maybe he was not there when I told them?  He honestly had no idea where she was and even  more disturbing, he hadn't noticed she was gone until this morning.

We always joke about Alex being oblivious and "out of it" but this just slammed it home.  How can a 10 year old be this oblivious to his surroundings and activity/life going on around him?  I find it scary for his own safety.  He is so unaware.  He is the opposite of kids on the spectrum who hate change or who have to have things a certain way.  He barely notices change and does not care one bit if things are changed up.  I once changed around all the furniture in his room and he barely noticed that.  It scares me.  I don't know what to make of it.  I don't know what it "means" or if it means anything.  There is tons of information about kids who are inflexible or hate change and how to deal with it.  But not so much on kids who are completely oblivious to much of what is happening right in front of them and who don't even notice even rather large changes.  I am at a loss.