My psychiatrist has advised me to take a leave of absence from work, then look for other work after the 8-12+ weeks of leave are over, as working with people is not a good fit for me.

I have autism/aspergers, social anxiety disorder, severe anxiety disorder, depression, and PTSD from childhood trauma and from a failed adoption 6 years ago. I am 38, and my autism has just been diagnosed.

Until last week, I was working as a front desk agent at a small motel. I mostly worked alone, which was really good for me. Doing the paperwork, filing, stocking of breakfast items, laundry, and light repetitive cleaning were all things I was good at.

Every time the phone rang, I had a panic attack. Every time a guest went "off script" or asked for things outside what we normally offered, I struggled severely. Any change, any extra time I had to fill that was outside of my routine, all sensory overload (having radios on, loud guests, bad smells, etc.) would put me into meltdown. I am a very quiet person, who tends to try very hard to do what is expected of me - so while work knew I had a severe anxiety disorder, and even suspected autism, they thought I was doing well at my job, and didn't know at all how much stress and panic attacks I was having over work.

Anyway, I know I have to find other work, but have no idea what to do from here. Career quizzes say that secretary or receptionist would be a good fit for me - but they are very similar to my last job (only with more people around more often) and I know that isn't good for me. No phones. Little contact with people. Mostly independent work (I can't move if I feel someone is watching me.)

I also have back trouble, and a lot of aches and pains in my feet and legs (leftover from having severe club foot when I was born.) I have very low/inconsistent energy. I am also a perfectionist who really struggles in places where I worry others will be disappointed with me, that I could make a costly mistake, or where I have to give my opinion/creative thought (not that I don't have the ability to do these, but it is best I do them for myself and not as part of work.)

I have trouble leaving home a lot of time, and also have trouble finding my own routine around other people's schedules (also if I am having a low functioning day, I need to be able to take it off, or at least not be afraid of low productivity at work - so a job where I maybe have to be present, but don't always have to fill me time would be good. - I also have high functioning days, but would like to use those to clean, organize, and fix up my house and yard if I could.)

It would be nice to either create or find a job where I can work from home, but get regular pay and benefits. However, I have fallen for so many scams in the past in my attempts to work from home.

I did run a daycare from my home for several years, however, this is now a trigger for the trauma of my failed adoption and I can't do it anymore. Also the unpredictability is hard for me, and the noise level is a challenge for my sensory issues.

I am sorry this is so long. I didn't expect to be out of work (I did ask for help with work, and was/am highly anxious all the time.) I don't know where to go from here.

Are there any job quizzes that are free (I am not working now) that might take into account my disabilities and sensory issues? Does anyone have any legitimate ideas of what I might do?

The job list that Temple Grandin wrote doesn't seem to help me. I love animals, but fall apart when they die, so vet wouldn't work. I am not good with machines, numbers, or even detailed facts. I am okay with those things, but no more than NTs would be so how could I compete? I am not great with computers, cannot understand programming language, have no special artistic talent...

It stresses me out to be out of work. I need that paycheck. It also stressed me out to work - every day I felt like I was about to face a firing squad, and also had no life outside of work I was so tired (and scheduling usually conflicted with anything I might have liked to do.)

I don't know what to do.