(CNN) -- Parents of children with special needs are demanding an apology from conservative political pundit Ann Coulter for tweeting after Tuesday's foreign policy debate that she approved of "Romney's decision to be kind and gentle to the retard."

It appeared to be a response to critiques of Mitt Romney's debate performance, but it wasn't the first time Coulter used the "the r-word" during this election season. And, it's not the first time blogger Ellen Seidman has called her out on it.

"At this point, I'm thinking the woman must surely be aware that the word is offensive, and she chooses not to care. That's pretty vile and heartless," said Seidman, the mother of a special needs child who shares her world on the blog "Love that Max."

"You want to slam the president, go ahead. But you can't think of any other word to use? Come on."

Ending the r-word: Ban it or understand it?

The word "retard" demeans Max and millions more with intellectual disabilities, Seidman tweeted at Coulter. Still, the comment was favorited 1,215 times and earned 2,993 retweets as of this writing, presumably by a number of people who didn't find it offensive. But sentiments from those who chose to respond to Coulter on Twitter ranged from disappointment to outrage.

"You disgust me. That man is the president of this country. (& I'm sure all of the disabled children in America appreciate you.)," actor Sophia Bush tweeted.

"Politics aside, this tweet from @anncoulter was offensive & disgusting. ANY use of the "R" word is unacceptable," @amurphy217 said.

The Special Olympics also condemned her use of the word, saying that it was "sad to see @AnnCoulter continue her use of hateful language by using the #Rword in her discourse."

In an open letter directed at Coulter posted Tuesday on the Special Olympics blog, John Franklin Stephens, a 30-year-old Special Olympian with Down syndrome, described what the word meant to him: "I thought first of asking whether you meant to describe the President as someone who was bullied as a child by people like you, but rose above it to find a way to succeed in life as many of my fellow Special Olympians have.

"Then I wondered if you meant to describe him as someone who has to struggle to be thoughtful about everything he says, as everyone else races from one snarkey sound bite to the next. ... Well, Ms. Coulter, you, and society, need to learn that being compared to people like me should be considered a badge of honor. No one overcomes more than we do and still loves life so much."

Even people known for their sense of humor came out against it. Comedian and Twitter personality @UncleDynamite resurfaced a 2-year-old post from his tumblr in which he explained why he would no longer follow anyone he saw using "the r-word."

He re-posted it after seeing people retweeting and favoriting the tweet, which he found disturbing coming from a a "well-educated, self-described Christian with such a huge public presence."

He hopes she'll read it and maybe have a change of heart, but he's not necessarily counting on it.

What do you think of Coulter's comment? Sound off with CNN iReport

"Based upon Ann's tweets today, I'd say she's dug in and unrepentant," he said Tuesday in an e-mail. "She must not know, love or respect anyone with an intellectual disability, then, and more's the pity. I'd like to see her after a great day of volunteering at a Special Olympics or Best Buddies event. I'd lay odds she'd never think or say the r-word word ever again, and she'd probably be quick to anger if someone she heard did so."

Others observing the controversy surmised that Coulter used the word solely to draw attention.

"Guys. Ann Coulter is trolling you. Always. Outrage gives her strength. The only thing that will kill her? Complete & utter indifference," @PaprbakPrincess tweeted.

Congress banned the use of the words "retard" and "retardation" in 2010 in federal health, education and labor laws in favor of using the words "intellectual disability." The American Psychiatric Association also plans to replace the term "mental retardation" with "intellectual development disorder" in the fifth version of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, to be published by in 2013.

Then why do people cling to the word, Seidman and people like her wonder. She has posed the question before in her blog, which is probably why she woke this morning to find a slew of tweets and e-mails asking her to call out Coulter again for repeatedly using "the r-word" to describe President Obama.

The last time was just a few weeks ago in a blog post called "Let's talk about people who cling to the word 'retard.' " In the post, she recounted a series of recent examples of the word being used: in a New York Times article, in the comments of a YouTube video she made for the Special Olympics' annual campaign to end the use of the word, in the comments section of a CNN.com article.

She also included Coulter's last tweet about a video the president made for the National Forum on Disability Issues: "Been busy, but is Obama STILL talking about that video? I had no idea how crucial the retarded vote is in this election."

"Many people think that using the word 'retard' to slam someone is fine—as long as it's not actually directed at a person with disability. I've had plenty of people argue with me over that distinction. What people don't understand is that every time someone uses the word 'retard,' they perpetuate the idea that people with intellectual disability, like my son, Max, are stupid or losers," Seidman said in an e-mail Tuesday.

"As I've said before, my son shouldn't be defined by ghosts of stereotypes past. He has enough to contend with in this world. Use. Another. Word."

Do you use the "r-word"? Do you object to its use? Please share your opinions respectfully in the comments section below

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/23/living/ann...index.html

The topic of special needs is one Wilton, Conn. resident Gloria Bass knows well. She’s the special needs coordinator at the Wilton Y, and her husband’s 19-year-old grandson, Artie, has intellectual delays and processing disorder.

So, when news broke that Republican commentator Ann Coulter used the R-word as a slur against President Obama in a tweet following Monday’s debate, Bass was understandably upset.

“I’ve heard the word often—it’s disturbing. It’s not an appropriate way to describe someone,” she said. “People need to be aware—it’s not an okay word.”

In her tweet, Coulter wrote: “I highly approve of Romney’s decision to be kind and gentle to the retard.”

Artie, who graduated Wilton High School last June, now attends the Rise Life Skills Program at Sacred Heart University and volunteers at the Y. On weekends he plays ice hockey and loves to go to antique car shows with his grandparents.

“He presents well but because of his disabilities, there’s a part of him that doesn’t get what people are saying. They’ll say, ‘What are you, retarded?’ Once he said, ‘My friend told me I was retarded.’ People don’t realize the impact. I’ve always wanted him to feel like a typical person, and he’s been very successful. I’ve spent years getting him prepared and his self-confidence up, and one little word becomes a huge word. It was very hard to explain it to him without hurting his feelings. I’m hurting for Artie,” Bass said.

The significant media coverage of public reaction once Coulter’s tweet went viral helped motivate Bass to try and raise awareness of how hurtful the R-word can be. Her idea was to create a contract that people could sign, pledging to never say the word themselves, and to raise awareness about ending the use of the word by others.

“We have to do something while this is out here and people are paying attention, this is the time to try to get attention to this. My daughter said, ‘Let’s get a contract together. Let’s get it done right now.’ So the two of us worked on it,” Bass explained.

Bass’s daughter, Faith Filiault, works as an advocate for families of children with special needs, running her Wilton-based practice, Advocate with Faith. She quickly got the electronic version of the contract online and on Facebook through Constant Contact. The two women are hoping the link goes viral—through Wilton and beyond.

“I just want people to stop and think before they open their mouth. I want parents to teach their kids so that kids aren’t making fun of it. Everybody has got to know somebody. What if it were their own child, their own brother, their own sister?” Filiault said.

Coulter followed up her post-debate tweet the following day with a second one that also contained the slur. Several published reports featured an open letter to Coulter written by Special Olympics athlete John Franklin Stephens, which went viral as well. Stephens, a 30-year-old man with Down syndrome, wrote:

“After I saw your tweet, I realized you just wanted to belittle the President by linking him to people like me.  You assumed that people would understand and accept that being linked to someone like me is an insult and you assumed you could get away with it and still appear on TV.”

If Bass had the chance to talk to Coulter, she said she’d ask the pundit a very direct question.

“She’s a tough person to try to talk to but my question to her would be, ‘Do you understand how much you’re hurting people? Do you get how much you’re affecting the lives of so many children and adults?’"

Bass hopes to circulate paper copies of the contract for people to sign as well, either at the Wilton Y or elsewhere in town. She hopes to have copies during the Halloween Walk in Wilton Center on Saturday, and said she wants the entire community to take part.

“Artie was involved with Best Buddies at Wilton High School, and last year the group had their classmates sign a pledge that they would not use the r-word. I was impressed, but it needs to be on a larger scale. The community needs to be more onboard with it. The kids are signing it—we need the parents to sign it too. It has to start from the parents.”

Bass won’t be sending any copies to Coulter; instead, she plans to focus on raising awareness here at home.

“I don’t know that [Coulter] gets it because she’s selfish. I don’t think that she’ll apologize. She did it before and didn’t apologize then.”

http://woodbury-middlebury.patch.com/art...d-680970e1

Ann Coulter is a caricature. A human cartoon, if you will. This outrage is misplaced; the public really shouldn't pay any mind to what she says.

To some folks it is a big deal

I enjoy using the "B" word when it comes to describing Coulter

This post was last modified: 10-27-2012 07:37 PM by skyblue1 .

Ann Coulter is a moron..... why should people pay attention to a moron?

I consider myself to be a moderate, so I try to get a nice, well-rounded perspective from many viewpoints on both sides.  

That being said...Ann Coulter and Bill O'Reilly make my skin crawl.  

What an ignorant, arrogant ***.

Agreed :-/

agreed

O'Reilly too

So she referred to the President as a "retard"!?!

Who is this woman?

I don't know what to be more insulted by. Calling Obama a "retard" or the use of the word itself?

I remember seeing an image that stated.
"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups"

You know what was in the background? Nazis. Not that I am comparing her to a Nazi. It's just why I pay attention to stupid people in large groups or in power. Why? I'm frightened. The rising fascist movement in Greece makes me shi* bricks. Romney on the other hand scares me even more.

This post was last modified: 10-27-2012 08:17 PM by Some_Bloke.

Columnist and Political commentator

Someone who shouldn't be taken seriously

40% of america likes her, unfortunately

Oh please. Her rhetoric is so over-the-top that she might as well be a Straw Woman.

So she tickles your fancy, then?