Socialising with peers

Hi everyone, 

We’re currently in the assessment phase for our 3 year old boy and as he’s still young we’re still figuring out how best to support him. 
We went to our first birthday party today and whilst he mostly enjoyed it there were parts that broke my heart as his mum. I’ve always known that socially he is different from his peers with his communication being a big barrier as it is very delayed in comparison. Seeing how much he struggled to communicate with others when he attempted to join their play was very difficult. It also broke my heart to see how he struggled to stand up for himself when others took toys from him or did something that he did not like. His peers are so young themselves that I don’t expect them to understand these challenges but it scares me for how vulnerable he may be in the future as he grows. 
We don’t have any other families that we know who have the same challenges so it’s hard to find anyone to talk to. I’m just feeling very heartbroken as a mum.