Adoption Lingo: Terminology

I know, I know... everyone groans/laughs when faced with learning new P.C. lingo for yet another disenfranchised sub-culture. But let's face it--biology is a big deal in most cultures. It is important for legal reasons, but also because it is a way to claim people and make them our own. We all need to feel that we fit in with our families! The process of claiming family members in adoptive families is no less important, but it is different in some ways. It is similar to what step-parents and step-children go through when trying to meld into a cohesive family. However, as that is a much more common occurrence than adoption, the lingo is far better known. Just so that nobody is confused about the correct things to say about adoption, and because I am a pedantic jerk, I listed some important terms below.

Words to avoid: Real mother, father, parents.
Words to use: Biological mother, father, parents; Birth mother, father, parents; Adoptive parents or just mom and dad.

Words to avoid: Foundling; Lost child; Waif; Guttersnipe; Stray; Ward.
Words to use: Orphan, orphaned (used very sparingly); Adoptee, child who is adopted.

Words to avoid: Natural child; Real child; Child of one's own
Words to use: Biological child; Adopted Child, or most of the time, just Child.
All children are natural, organic beings, and both parents and child are very "real" no matter who raises them. Adopted children definitely belong to their adoptive parents, and vice versa--they are their own.

When to use "adopted" as a descriptor
Obviously, there is no need to hide the fact that someone is adopted. However, it really only needs to be used to describe someone when it is entirely relevant. To use the term "adopted" over and over when there is no need to really just serves to single the person out (this is based on info from grown Korean adoptees).

CCAA: China Center for Adoption Affairs. This is the department of the Chinese government that deals with all adoption issues.

SWI: Social Welfare Institute. This is where orphans and old people end up.

LID: Log in date. This is the date that the paperwork prospective adoptive parents have submitted gets "logged" in with the CCAA. This is essentially your place in line.