Son will be turning 3 on 4-6-12 social and behavior concerns

[educatortoddler]

My son will be turning 3 yrs old on 4-6-12. He is very smart such as he can spell many 3 and 4 letter words, knows all his colors, shapes, animals (more than the average cow and goat), abcs, numbers (counts to 25), understands the amount of how many cows he sees. I am slighlty concerned about his social behavior. I am a clinical therapist but it is hard to figure out your child versus others. He knows his name and whether he is a boy or not. But sometimes he lacks in ability to answer questions. You can ask him " ____ do you want to go outside" He says "oustide" you say answer "yes or no" he says "yes or no". Sometimes he answers you other times he doesn't. What do you think???
I am enrolling him in daycare to help with his social skills. He gets mad and scream and throws tatrums at times.
He has issues with eating. He refuses to try anything new. He has issues with texture which is sensory issues I know. He is scared of anything that flys such as wasp, fly, lady bug.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

I don't really see things in your note that indicate problems with social skills.
The apparent sensory issues can be evaluated by an Occupational Therapist but, to be frank, I would wait a while because his neurological system is in a stage of rapid growth. Like many children his age he shows limited ability to manage the strong affect that accompanies frustration; that is an aspect of his emotional development). But this, too, will evolve in time. Most children are uneven in their development. Your son is advanced in the cognitive domain and he is not as advanced in the emotional domain.

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It is pretty much inevitable that we compare our children with others, but it's important to be careful about such comparisons. One phenomenon is that we almost always compare our children unfavorably with others - in other words, we tend to put the spotlight on the negative. Your son will likely derive significant benefit from the pre-school.

[educatortoddler]

Thank you very much for your response. I was slighlty concerned. He has a cousin who will be 3 yrs old in September she is more advance in her social skills and understanding than he is. I know girls tend to develop their social and language skills earlier than boys but I need some reassurance.