Can mild autism with bipolar disorder be a qualifying illness to enter the special olympics?

Question

Can mild autism with bipolar disorder be a qualifying illness to enter the special olympics?

Answer 1

I helped coach for our local special olympics last summer. You could have one or the other and participate. As long as you have a disability we don't chase anyone away. You do have to get a physical and the doctors okay. Some teams are called unified teams. They have non-disabled participants playing as well to help out all of our special people.

Answer 2

A person had to be enrolled in special services and have a diminished IQ.  I am curious about the combinations of diagnosis you mentioned. and how the diagnosis came about as they seem contradictory.

Answer 3

Yes, even people with just mild autism have been in the Special Olympics.

Answer 4

directly quoted from the Special Olympics website:

To be eligible to participate in Special Olympics, you must be at least 8 years old and identified by an agency or professional as having one of the following conditions: intellectual disabilities, cognitive delays as measured by formal assessment, or significant learning or vocational problems due to cognitive delay that require or have required specially designed instruction. The Special Olympics Young Athletes™ program was created for children with intellectual disabilities ages 2 through 7.

hope this helps. i also believe that the above stated can also be used to qualify for Unified Sports, which is where teams of disabled and non-disabled athletes are on the same team together.

good luck!