Alumni Spotlight: Sister Duo Offers Local, Personalized Allied Health Services

• By School of Health Professions
• January 21, 2025
• Education

Abagale (Abby) Chapman, OT (2014), and Hannah Cowden, SLP (2017), are sisters working together to help children in Lubbock and the surrounding areas become the greatest version of themselves. The sister duo owns Dear Sister Therapy, a pediatric therapy clinic offering occupational and speech therapy, parent training and education, and many additional options for families to explore and obtain the services they need for their child. 

Abby and Hannah grew up on their family ranch in New Mexico and both made their way to West Texas to study at TTU, ultimately finishing out their masters degrees at TTUHSC in the School of Health Professions. After graduation, they both gained experience primarily in pediatric outpatient therapy in Lubbock and Midland. Ultimately, they both decided to join forces in Lubbock, bringing children and parents in the area a more localized and personalized therapy experience.  

“We wanted to create an environment where we could really cater to our strengths,” said Abby. “We both really enjoy teaching and empowering parents that they have all the power in the world to make the biggest difference for their kids.”

In 2021, the pair “rolled the dice,” as Hannah describes, and gave this new opportunity their best effort – an effort that has paid off as they move to a new, larger facility and grow their team. 

Supporting not only the children they teach, but also their student’s parents through the therapy process is a cornerstone of their work. They keep their case load focused and small, so that they can spend one-on-one time helping the families they work with build knowledge and confidence. 

“In this generation of raising kids, we have a plethora of knowledge at our fingertips,” Hannah says. “There’s this comparison factor that our parents didn’t quite have - questioning what to do and what not to do. That’s where we want to step in for our parents.”

“We really love developing connections with our families,” Abby says. “It’s such a big part of what makes our jobs so meaningful and rewarding to us.” 

Their integrated approach to allied health is something they credit to TTUHSC, noting the unique opportunities given to them in the School of Health Professions to work so closely with and learn about the other specialties. They say this gives them the ability to help their clients find the support they may need beyond just their scope of practice.

“It was a neat opportunity to do therapy, and then get really good feedback afterwards,” Abby says. “At TTUHSC, you’re just given that confidence in knowing that somebody's right there to support you if you need help or guidance.” 

This culture they have carried with them and continued to share with the Lubbock and surrounding communities.