Meet Daisy Montgomery | Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Daisy Montgomery and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Daisy, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I have been involved in advocacy and diversity, equity, and inclusion for a long time in the corporate space, yet it seemed no matter how hard I fought to create meaningful change for women, people of color, and disabled people, nothing changed. Lots of lip service with no action. So I decided to create my own company to make the impact I wanted.

Since I am an autistic woman, and my husband and my son are also autistic, I wanted to focus on the autism aspect of DEI because that’s my life everyday and I can speak to it from experience. There are a lot of misconceptions about autistic people, from that there’s a “look” to you if you’re autistic, that autistic people can’t feel empathy, that autistic people are overwhelmingly intellectually disabled, and more. I am passionate about educating neurotypical (non-autistic) people that autism isn’t what they think it is. But more importantly, I want to show autistic kids and adults that they aren’t alone. If I can make a difference in an autistic child’s classroom by educating their school staff, that’s worth more than gold to me.

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets Autistics Anonymous apart from others is that not only are we autistic-owned, but we listen to and elevate autistic voices. We pride ourselves in creating a safe environment for not only autistics, but for neurotypical individuals who want to learn about autism. During our trainings or keynotes, we encourage people to ask questions, even if they made be considered ableist outside of the room we’re training in. We encourage this because it gives people the chance to be vulnerable, confront a misconception they have held about autism, and explore why they’ve held onto this belief. Some past questions we’ve received have been centered around ABA, a notoriously harmful “therapy” practice to “teach” autistics behaviors, anti-vax narratives, or the misconception that nonspeaking autistics cannot understand what’s been going on around them. It’s very satisfying to see people come into these trainings with little to no understanding of what being autistic feels like, to feeling confident they can support the autistics in their life or community.

Our framework is Connect – Learn – Transform, and it’s been wildly successful.

The biggest challenges of being an autistic business owner include being mindful of burnout or shutdowns, battling the hurtful messages autistics grow up with regarding capability, and believing in yourself.

Autistics are very prone to burnout in a much shorter amount of time that neurotypical people just because of the nature of autism and how our brains process information, sensory stimulus, socialization, and more. So I give myself a lot of breaks throughout my day and carefully curate my schedule so I am not overwhelmed. I also do a lot of work in therapy and inner work to navigate through the messages that autistics hear a lot growing up: you’re stupid, you’re lazy, you’re not going to amount to anything because you struggle tying your shoes or making friends, etc. It’s necessary work if you want to break free of the trauma that weighs you down. The thing to remember is that it is not a one-and-done thing — it’s a continuous process.

I had a long career before starting Autistics Anonymous, and I would say that the healing work I did over the course of those 13 years is what allowed me to show up as I am for my clients and for myself. What does that mean? That means I don’t sensor what it’s like being autistic. That means that sometimes, I show up to a training wearing my favorite Pokemon hoodie. If I can’t be myself in my own business, what’s the point?

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Ooh, good question. I’m in Fort Collins, so I think some places I would take my friends who are visiting out of town would be:

Social – the speakeasy bar in Old Town. Perfect atmosphere, great snacks, and amazing drinks, no matter if you imbibe or not
Pinball Jones – I’d want to show them my favorite Elvira, Mistress of the Dark pinball machine!
Horsetooth Reservoir – amazing views and a great little beach in this land-locked state
Ace Gillet’s – another speakeasy bar with amazing blues music
Young’s – this Vietnamese restaurant has the best pork over rice in town
Cheba Hut – you can’t visit Colorado without hitting up this joint (teehee). Great sandwiches and a very groovy 420 atmosphere
The Gardens at Spring Creek – gorgeous landscaping and flowers and butterflies. What’s not to like?
Scrimshaw Tatoo – best tattooers in NoCo, in my opinion. I won’t go anywhere else!
Mugs – we’d stop in here and grab an iced Goldfinger coffee, humming the James Bond theme song as we walk out
Games Ahoy – I’m a huge geek and hit up this place every week. They have video games, Pokemon cards, Warhammer models, gaming tournaments, and more!
Welsh Rabbit Cheese Shop – their Powerful Welsh cheese is my absolute favorite cheese of all time!
Devil’s Backbone – an easy hike for people who aren’t used to the altitude!
Edwards House – I’d encourage my friends to stay at the Edwards House. Perfect bed and breakfast!
Los Tarasco’s – you want amazing Mexican food, salsa bar, and the best lavender margs EVER? Look no further

There’s lots of places I’d take my friends — this list could go on forever!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My husband Barclay has been an immense encouragement in this journey. He is always lifting me up on days where I feel like I’m falling short. He believes in me when I may have trouble believing in myself.

My living son, Ashton, has taught me a lot about embracing who we are unapologetically. He has shown me that truly, no two autistic people are alike, and his bravery at being himself has encouraged me to continue to accept me for who I am.

My son, Jasper, who was unfortunately stillborn in January 2023, taught me that you can have an immense impact on people in a short amount of time. He has shown me that our time is short, and we need to make it count.

I love Barclay and my boys fiercely, and I am grateful to have them in my life.

Website: https://www.autisticsanonymousllc.com/

Instagram: @autisticsanonymous

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daisy-montgomery-mba-pmp-509868101/

Image Credits
Wild Bliss Photography