By Jim Davis - Florida Catholic
Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC
Gabriel Grove with some of his many puppets. He enjoys doing ventriloquist shows at the Schott Center in Cooper City.
DAVIE | Do you pity autistic people? You may need to meet Gabriel Grove.
The 23-year-old keeps a round of activities that would stretch anyone's time and talents.
He's in a drama group and a bowling league.
He takes physical training at the local YMCA.
He does a puppet show every week at the Schott Center in Cooper City. And he modeled in its spring fashion show.
Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC
Gabriel Grove volunteers as an usher during Sunday Mass at St. Bonaventure Church, assisted by his father, Gary.
"I have a social activity file for him," his mother, Diane, said with a laugh during a recent interview at their home, where she lives with Gabe and her husband, Gary. "Wherever I take him, someone knows him."
Yes, he is developmentally delayed, with a condition known as autistic spectrum disorder, though his is considered a "high-functioning" type. But with care and teaching from Schott, his family and his parish, St. Bonaventure in Davie, Gabe has grown into a cheerful, altruistic, even flamboyant young man.
He especially enjoys volunteering at the church and school, which launched its special education outreach in 1999. He served desserts at the recent religious education festival. He played Joseph in last year's nativity play. And he's been ushering at Sunday Mass for seven years.
"I like ushering — I give that to my church," Gabe said during the recent interview. "Because the church needed me."
Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC
Gabriel Grove hands a bulletin to a St. Bonaventure parishioner after Mass.
A recent visit to St. Bonaventure found him in one of his favorite outfits, a blue suit with a fox-pattern bow tie. With his father supervising, he brought an offering plate to the children's "Cry Room."
He handed the plate to a small child and watched as she gleefully passed it around as his informal assistant. Then he brought the offering to a back room, where the other plates were collected.
His father looked on with a smile. "I just shadow him — he does all the work," Gary said.
After Mass, Gabe stood at the door and handed out church bulletins as people exited. "Hey, Gabe," a tall young man said. "I love the foxes!" a middle-aged woman said, pointing to the neckwear.
"This makes me happy," he said afterward. "St. Bonaventure has the best image of me. They see me work hard. I've had rewards for seven years."
It's a big difference from the withdrawn boy who first came to the parish 16 years ago. In Pennsylvania, where he was born, schools held separate classes for special students like himself. Diane was anxious to learn he would be "integrated" with the other students at St. Bonaventure.
She was heartened at the reassurance from Sue McCrea, who helped start the special education program there: "Don’t worry. We'll make room for him."
Besides his regular classes, Gabe was taken aside for one-on-one lessons in topics like prayers and the Bible. "And the regular kids (at St. Bonaventure) were wonderful," Diane said. "Even the tough kids kind of took him under their wing."
The mainstreaming approach gradually brought him out of his shell — so much that after his confirmation, he wanted to give back. That's when he began training to become an usher.
Outside church, he's developed a love for puppetry and ventriloquism. Over the last four years, he has collected more than 20 puppets including a pig, a parrot, a pirate, a skunk, a lemur, an octopus, and characters like Beaker from "The Muppet Show."
Every week he takes one of them to the Schott Center and does a show during Adult Day Training. He also reads Dr. Seuss books to other kids.
At church or at Schott, he wants to help.
"Some kids have more problems than I do," Gabe said. "I try to help them and set an example."
Photographer: JIM DAVIS | FC
Gabriel Grove, right, adds the contents of his collection plate to the rest of the offering, held by fellow St. Bonaventure usher Chris Dixon.
This is part of a package of stories on Church outreach to the disabled that appeared in the July 2016 edition of the Florida Catholic. See related stories:
