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Adoptee (Glossary)

Adoptee: An adoptee is a child relinquished by their birth or natural mother, for various reasons, who have then been adopted by someone else. The child, even at at the time of birth before conscious understanding of this event has taken place, can later in life feel a sense of loss and abandonment. This can often lead to attachment problems which reoccur until the source of feelings have been recognized and acknowledged, usually with the help of a professional counselor or psychologist.

Although this term refers to a person who has been adopted, there are many adopted individuals who do not like to be referred to in this way, because they consider themselves to be every bit as much a full member of their adopted family as any other natural child would be, and therefore consider themselves to be just a regular "child," rather than an "adoptee" or an "adopted child."