A phone screen for a parent with dementia: one or two named buttons
One screen on her phone with one or two large buttons, each with the one name she knows you by. A tap starts a call; the rest of the phone stays as it was.
What happens
A smartphone call is a chain of steps: unlock, find the phone app, open contacts, scroll, pick a name, press call. If one link goes missing, the call does not happen, even when she wants to talk.
BabushkApp shortens only the part it controls: the screen. It does not change memory or recognition; questions about the condition itself belong with her doctor.
Set it up in BabushkApp
Choose one or two people
Each extra button is one more choice. Start with the person she calls most; add a second only if she asks for them.
Write the name she uses for you
The button shows text only, no photo, so the label carries everything: the word she says, such as ANNA, SON or a family nickname. One word; the app writes it in capitals.
Make a plain call button
On her phone tap “Set up buttons” below. In “Quick setup” enter that name and your number with the country code, choose “Call”, tap “Continue”, then “Check this button” and “I checked it — add to screen”. A plain call needs no other app signed in.
One colour per person, then leave it
For a second person, hold “Setup” for a second, tap “Create button” and pick another colour under “Button color”. Once she uses the screen, keep the order and colours; if you change something, show her.
Put the icon on her first home screen
Use the iPhone or Android guide below. A normal tap on “Setup” does nothing; Setup opens only when held for a full second. That guards against a quick accidental tap, not a deliberate hold.
Check that the button works
- Hand her the phone on its home screen and ask her to call you, without prompting, the way she would alone.
- Answer, so one call from her side goes all the way through. If her phone asks “Call?” first or opens the dialler, show her that step.
- Test again after a phone update or on a new phone. If she stops using the screen, ask her what is in the way.
What BabushkApp does not do
- It cannot stop her opening other apps, changing settings or removing the icon: it is one screen on an ordinary phone.
- It does not answer calls for her, does not tell you whether she tapped a button and never calls anyone by itself.
- It is a shortcut to a phone call, not a medical, care or monitoring service.
- Buttons are stored in this browser and can disappear if its data is cleared; keep a copy with “More” → “Save a copy” in Setup.