Many Westporters have a relationship with Yale University.
Plenty of graduates (and some current students) live here. Some people teach there. Many residents go to Yale’s museums, cultural offerings and athletic events.
But it’s all New Haven-centric.
Now, the Ivy League institution has a physical presence in our town.
Yale Child Study Center Clinical Services recently opened its first satellite office, in the Willows Medical Center on Kings Highway North
Three YCSC faculty members — psychologists Dr. Tamique Ridgard Peters and Dr. Jackie Britt-Friedman, and psychiatrist Dr. Ayotunde Ayobello — evaluate and treat anxiety, ADHD and executive functioning issues, in children from birth through age 18.
Much of their work is collaborative. They offer virtual as well as in-patient services.
From left: Drs. Tamique Ridgard Peters, Jackie Britt-Friedman and Ayotunde Ayobello.
Dr. Ayobello — a former professional basketball player in Europe — specializes in treating young athletes.
Westport is fertile territory for the Yale Child Study Center’s first suburban foray.
The high-achieving culture here “makes it difficult for everyone,” Dr. Britt-Friedman explains.
“There are lots of helpful resoucrcs. But it’s hard for parents to manage the stresses, and that leads to stress for kids and teenagers.
“Parents understandably hav a hard time seeing kids struggle. They jump in to help, but that makes it worse.
“When a child struggles, that’s an opportunity to learn. Parents can help them leanr to manage those struggles, rather than jump in to ‘save’ them.”
Part of the YCSC’s work is preventive, to help youngsters manage and reduce anxiety early. “When parents are more aware of how they inadvertently contribute to this, they can work on it,” the pyschologist adds.
Dr. Ayobello’s work with athletes is particularly well suited for this area.
Youth sports teach many valuable lessons. But young smiles can fade, as pressures grow.
He talks with youngsters about why they play their sport, what motivates them, and the pressures they feel.
Those pressures start early, he says. “The enjoyment phase of a sport can be short. Pressures can be destructive,” and damage relationships with parents.
The psychiatrist helps young athletes refine their vision of themsleves and, he says, “polish their ‘why.'”
He works with parents too, to adjust expectations. “What does it mean if your child doesn’t play lacrosse at Stanford?” he will probe. “Do you think you’ve failed as a parent?”
“Parents want to do what’s best for their children,” Dr. Ayobello notes. “But sometimes they need to be able to readjust their lens.”
He cites a youth soccer player whose parents sent him to Europe to train. They thought the experience would motivate him. Instead, the boy realized he could never get to the elite level. He returned home less motivated.
Dr. Ayobello helped the youngster re-set his goals — and worked with the parents to readjust theirs, for their son.
A few years from now he may play soccer at Yale, or another Division I college. He may play D-III, or not at all.
But whatever path he takes, he will hopefully have learned from the Yale Child Study Center how to deal with the pressure.
(For more information on the Westport location, email WestportChildStudy@yale.edu or call 203-785-7379.)
(“06880” is your hyper-local source for Westport news. We rely on support from readers like you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution. Thank you!)
