While so many teenaged kids see video games as a way to have fun, relax, compete with friends, or keep out of trouble, for 13-year-old, Logan Nairn, gaming provides much more than that. Less than two years ago, Logan and his family learned that he'd inherited a rare genetic condition called TANC2 Syndrome—often referred to simply as TANC2. A lot has changed for him but he's found comfort, consistency, and connection in one important area—gaming and esports. And, despite a lot of uncertainty, Logan has always had one particular aspiration: building a gaming system of his own.
Logan’s mother, Jessie, started noticing something wasn’t quite right with her son a couple of years ago. It started with Logan having night seizures when he was around 11 years old. His brain would often wake up as many as 69 times each night even though he would stay asleep. This led to his body deteriorating and a decline in his cognitive processing. He couldn't get out of bed without excessive effort and, by December 2020, doctors were running tests in search of answers.
They ultimately discovered a neurodevelopmental syndrome that's associated with disruptive mutations in TANC2—a protein coding gene essential for the developing human brain. It has an incomplete symptom list (and fewer than 30 known cases worldwide) but it can seriously affect everything from motor, language, and cognitive development to emotional regulation. Essentially, Logan’s TANC2 gene experienced some sort of disruptive mutation, resulting in a protein building block swap. Already living with Autism, this new set of symptoms hit him particularly hard. Since it affected his emotion processing, it also exacerbated his anxiety—on top of his physical tiredness and cognitive slowdown.
The backstory on forming our relationship.
Logan and his family now live in Newton, MA—the same city as the Eduporium headquarters—after they moved from Martha's Vineyard, where Jessie is from. Throughout both the pandemic and his own personal situation, however, Logan has kept his passion for connecting and gaming. He's even been close with his same Discord group for three years, which is a big bright spot for him.
“Logan has always had an interest in gaming,” his mom, Jessie said. “He’s always had a computer-like mind—always wanting to figure things out. He really connects with his friends through gaming and his online community has really helped him with these challenges.”
As a holiday gift idea, Jessie began researching how Logan could build a full gaming system of his own. According to her, he has always wanted to build a computer from scratch—specifically a high-powered gaming computer. Like any mother, Jessie wanted to help her son build something that he could be proud of. So, with the help of a social worker, she started researching technology and robotics companies in the New England area—looking for any kind of guidance, tutelage, and inspiration she could find.
She stumbled across an article featuring Eduporium President and CEO, Rick Fredkin, and felt inspired by his story: a local dad who's passionate about using technology to create relevant learning opportunities for kids. She emailed Rick directly to ask about potentially helping her locate and eventually purchase the right components for the project. A few weeks later, Rick and some of the other Eduporium team members welcomed Jessie and Logan to our headquarters. There, he received his very own Acer Predator PG-20 DIY gaming kit as a gift thanks to a combined donation from the Acer team and the Eduporium team.
Jessie was unaware it would be donated, however, and she was both shocked and elated when she found out. It was an emotional scene but, then, the real work began. Logan started building the gaming computer from scratch—with everything all the way down to the screw level. It was a solid four-hour job but he had plenty of in-depth assistance from Rick and other Eduporium team members. Ultimately, it was his project to complete and own for himself.
“He loved it and he really learned a lot,” Jessie said of the building experience. “It took him a while to get through it—memory issues are still tough for him—but, as a mom, it was so touching to see him fulfilling a dream of his, especially after spending so much time watching him decline before my eyes.”
It was especially gratifying because, while he was attending school in-person, Logan never really took any hands-on computer classes, so this was a first. At his school, there were only options for extracurricular STEM experiences but not every student was able to participate. Plus, it became even tougher for him as his condition continued to impact his health. So, to have this experience of building a gaming system from scratch impacted Logan beyond simply creating something.
Building the gaming computer from scratch.
The Acer Predator kit comes as a fully disassembled computer, meaning Logan had to connect everything to build it. Before beginning, Rick and Jessie walked through the assembly instructions with Logan to help him get more comfortable with something that was brand new. It’s a high-powered gaming computer, so the components include everything from the computer itself to a case, power supply, motherboard, CPU, RAM, SSD hard drive, keyboard, mouse, and graphics card. It also comes with instructions but, for a first timer, it’s still a pretty tall task.
“It was so great to put this whole experience together for Logan,” said Rick. “We had a lot of help from the team at Acer in coming up with the exact piece of equipment for this specific task of him building a gaming computer from scratch. Fortunately, we were able to work with them to get the exact product they needed, which was great.”
How do you build a gaming computer for esports?
It really was a lengthy process for Logan to build the entire computer. And, along the way, he had plenty of opportunities to experiment with new things and play around to find solutions. Logan had to screw all the different components together, mount them in place, and make sure that everything lined up correctly—something he took great pride in doing for himself. Then, once they constructed all the external parts and strategically screwed them in, it was time to install the operating system—another first for Logan.
To do this, Rick and Logan had to go into the computer’s BIOS (basic input/output system), which allowed him to experience more new things and learn about how the inside of a computer works. Most importantly, Logan built the entire system in one day while at our office. And, it wasn’t lost on Jessie how helpful Rick was throughout the process.
“I know that technology people aren’t always necessarily the best at slowly and methodically explaining things,” she said. “But, Rick was super helpful in explaining the building process and why he had to do certain things. Logan really benefited from the entire process.”
Now, Logan has his very own gaming system—and the satisfaction of building it from the ground up. It was fantastic to see firsthand how the esports community—and technology lovers in general—can lift someone's spirit. So far, he's been playing his favorite games, including Roblox, Minecraft, and Battlefield and, of course, communicating with his friends. Even though the new relationship between Rick and Jessie began somewhat out of the blue, this culmination certainly helped Logan smile throughout his challenges.
Keeping connections strong and spirits high.
“He’s started to come back,” Jessie said. “He’s been on so many different medications and this definitely helped his old personality return a bit. He was asking Rick a lot of questions and I could tell he was really getting it. It was super helpful and really heartwarming to watch.”
Jessie also appreciated how the building experience brought out more of a social side in Logan. In working with Rick and the rest of our team, he was much more extroverted—actively asking questions and feeling the same type of support he gets from his friends in the gaming world. Gaming allows Logan to be himself and put aside some of the stress associated with everyday life. For him, that's everything from medical uncertainties to the continuing pandemic and his increased anxiety associated with each.
“Gaming allows Logan to not be seen, to reinvent himself, and to be who he wants to be,” said Jessie. “I kept thinking how so many kids with Autism would blossom with the opportunity to try a project like this. The impact of him being able to take ownership of something is truly huge.”
Especially for Logan, a teenager who’s been through so much, including a surprising diagnosis, relocating to a new city for treatment at Children’s Hospital in Boston, and remote learning, finding someone to help him build a system like this was just what he needed, according to Jessie. It was hard work for him but he now has something he can use to stay close with his friends. As Logan continues to navigate short-term memory, cognitive processing, and emotional regulation challenges, we hope this adds some positivity.
How the Acer team made a huge impact.
For Logan and Jessie, it was as much about experiencing this as it was experiencing it with help from the right people. She did Logan a great service by taking it upon herself to reach out to us and, from there, we were able to contact our partners at Acer, who perfectly supported all of us in the project. They agreed to donate the gaming system to Logan's family, which Jessie truly appreciated a great deal, and provided additional technical guidance and suggestions for everyone working on the build. On top of that, Logan and Jessie weren't expecting for the gaming system to be donated, which was a great way to punctuate their visit to our office last winter.
“She almost cried when we told her our friends from Acer pitched in to help cover the cost,” Rick said. “They said they’d be willing to donate the hardware and we decided to cover the rest of the accessories. When she arrived at our office, she was still expecting to pay for it after working to gather the funds. Of course, she was shocked but so appreciative when we gave her the news.”
Completing the ultimate gaming system build.
“Even though it was a lot for Logan, he was able to get all the way done,” Rick said. “It’s truly a fantastic accomplishment for him and we could tell that it meant a lot. To have the opportunity to help someone in the community was great—especially for this family and for Logan. They’ve had some hard times and this is something they really wanted to do. It was great that our friends from Acer chipped in and this certainly meant a lot to us, too.”
Of course, it was a very heartwarming experience for our whole team as well as for Jessie and Logan. Once again, this wouldn’t have been possible without the donation and support from the Acer team. We sincerely thank them for getting behind this initiative and for supporting the family in such an impactful way. It’s just another example of a community coming together and using a common interest—gaming, technology, the esports market, and the desire to help—to make a difference. Follow Eduporium on Twitter and Instagram for more.
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