HKZ!
Things have taken a bit of an odd turn here. More of the usual crap at school for ds1. Met his other year teacher and she seems very sympathetic and keen to help which is good. Yet another bullying incident by the same boy at lunch time. Then, his teacher came out to see me at the end of the day to say he hadn't been well and had had stomach ache and repeated upset stomachs all day (we think this is anxiety related as he's been fine since he got home). She also said that she noticed that he seems to 'float off' and not hear what she is saying fairly reguarly and so ends up several steps behind the rest of the class.
I decided to chat to him about it this evening and it seems he has been having 'absences' for want of a better word. He says he is doing something and then its as if he wakes up suddenly and he's missed a bit of whatever is going on at the time. He said it was happening last school year, but not very often, but that now its happening more and more. He thinks it happens more at school than at home though.
It doesn't bother him and I made light of it so as not to worry him, BUT .. my MIL has just been diagnosed with absence seizures. Some of hers have lasted up to half an hour and she is completely in denial and refusing to take her meds! 
FIL reckons she's always had 'turns'. Also, dnephew on dh's side, who also has ASD, was diagnosed with absence epilepsy at about the same age/slightly older and the paeds reckoned he had probably been having episodes for some time before he was finally diagnosed.
The thought had crossed my mind before, as I have always been aware of him being 'absent' for short periods, but I instantly dismissed it as just me fussing over nothing, him being a spacey kind of kid and more recently have put it down to autistic tuning out rather than actual absences. He just seems to stare into space for a short while and if you speak to him he doesn't respond, but then blinks and carries on whatever he was doing completely oblivious to the fact you have spoken to him.
When I went to fetch ds2 today, the playground is overlooked by ds1's new classroom. He saw me, smiled and waved and I smiled and indicated for him to turn around and concentrate. A few seconds later the whole class stood up and face the front (ie with their backs to the window) and I turned away so as not to distract ds1 and get him into trouble. When I did look back, everyone else was still standing facing forwards, except ds1 who was stood with his forehead against the window looking zoned out.
When we were talking this evening he told me that he 'went into the blank space' then and was surprised when he woke up and found himself by the window. He also said his teacher was not amused and he got told off.
I have to get this investigated now don't I? Its all just a bit too scarey to be ignored.
Dh is just about to call his brother to ask about his ds's seizures and why/how they knew to get it checked out.
I feel sick. I had to choke myself to stop myself crying when he was explaining to me what happens. He said it even happens when he is on his beloved nintendo and he loses the place in his game, it also happens when is reading or trying hard to concentrate on something.
He has also developed a mild facial twitch over the past month, where he sort of blinks hard a few times and scrunches up his nose and mouth. I have just read elsewhere on mn that this could be related to the absences.
My poor boy, doesn't he have enough to cope with already, without this as well? 