Harsha is a "hugger." The first day the author met him, he smiled and hugged her gently as they walked together into his classroom at the Beautiful Gate Special School (BGSS). His mom lovingly tugged at his arm, pulling him away. "I'm sorry," she said, looking concerned that her son had once again crossed the line of physical contact in a society that is so modest that men and women do not routinely shake hands. For parents of children with autism, teaching their children to follow the accepted social rules and customs is a daily challenge. In India, where barriers such as extreme poverty, social policy, cultural stigma, and the caste system have tended to isolate people with disabilities, many children and their families struggle to integrate into their communities. The author shares her experience of visiting the BGSS in Mysore, India, in 2008 and 2009, volunteering as a pediatric physical therapist to provide direct treatment, consultation, and teacher training on behalf of Pediatric Therapy Services (PTS) Inc. She states that she was struck to discover how alike we all are, despite our geographic and cultural differences. Parents in India want the same things for their children; schools and teachers in India struggle with many of the same issues that we have in the U.S.; and parents of disabled children want them to be "accepted by society." Contains 2 endnotes.) ["Voices from India: A Look into the Lives of Children with Special Needs & Their Families" was written with Sunita Locklear.]