Be Word Wise
| Positive Adoption Language
The words we choose say a lot about what we think. When we use positive adoption language, we say that adoption is a way to build a family just as birth is a way to build a family. Both are important, but one is not more important than the other. Try using the positive words when you are talking about adoption. |
| POSITIVE LANGUAGE | NEGATIVE LANGUAGE |
| Birth Parent | Real Parents |
| Biological Parent | Natural Parent |
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| Birth Child | Own Child |
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| My Son/Daughter | Adopted Child |
| Born to Unmarried Parents | Illegitimate |
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| Choose Adoption | Give Up |
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| Make an Adoption Plan | Give Away |
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| International Adoption | Foreign Adoption |
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| Child with Special Needs | Handicapped Child |
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| Child from Abroad | Foreign Child |
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| Was Adopted | Is Adopted |
