National Council for Adoption: Positive Adoption Language
The information below is from our friends at National Council for Adoption.
Have you ever stopped to realize the way you talk about adoption? Did you know that there is an accurate way to use adoption language? Adoption language is very important to use whether you are talking to family, friends, and birthparents. It is also important to use positive adoption language with your children. If you demonstrate the ability to talk about the adoption in an accurate way, so will your child. By using accurate adoption language, we are educating others on how adoption is recognized and discussed. A lot of us do not realize what we say and how those words might affect the way we see the world and those in it. This is just an example of how we forget to think before we speak. Everyone does it, but one day it is hoped that positive adoption language will be something everyone uses when talking about adoption.
The Adoption Council has a great website in which you can see some of the adoption language is portrayed both accurately and inaccurately. A few examples they give are:
Please keep all of this in mind when discussing adoption with those in your life. It is important that we try to make this the norm! Give it a try!
National Council for Adoption's “Accurate Adoption Language” PDF