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Disability policies that entail negotiation between parents and healthcare professionals are examined, specifically the decision-making process entailed in registering disabled children of Chinese origin with the local MDPH (Maison départementale des personnes handicapées – Departmental Home for Disabled Persons), in Paris. Through scenes of interaction between parents and professionals at three distinct stages of the decision-making process, two structural challenges of the negotiation are noted: the emotional work and migratory trajectories. Practical questions underlying the negotiation arise: the parameters of decision making, the child’s place in the negotiation, and the ethnic dimension of the therapeutic relationship.