[Geography of the disabled child population in metropolitan France]

The match between supply and demand for services or equipment for children with disabilities is not easy to determine because, on the one hand, the distribution of disability is not homogeneous across the territory, and on the other hand there is a diversity of databases that does not allow a real estimate of demand. We propose first a discussion on the available data sources to approximate the geographical distribution of children with disabilities. In a second step, we propose a distribution model based on a spatial statistical analysis of the determinants of disability. Our goal is to understand in which ways the available data can be, by assessing their convergence, indicative of the distribution of the population of children with disabilities in the territory. A critical discussion is needed on gaps in disability measurement and assessment systems to improve the link between population estimation and service provision.