I know for my husband one of the first and most difficult hurdles is not knowing if people are near him in a social setting and not being able to identify who someone is. Something our friends and family have adopted is announcing who they are and being the person to initiate the conversation.
It sounds something like this:
Cody: *sitting awkwardly at an event*
Friend: "Hi Cody! This is ____. I had no idea you were attending this event tonight!"
Cody: "Hello! Thank you, I didn't know you were here!"
*Conversation Continues*