A local family took part in the 11th annual Trek for Tourette in Winnipeg last weekend, helping raise awareness and support for those living with Tourette's Syndrome.

Ryan Suderman and his brother Nathan live with Tourette's Syndrome, a neurological disorder characterized by involuntarily movements and verbal ticks. While the Winkler brothers have a more mild condition, it's a daily reality of life. "There isn't really a minute that goes by where I don't have five to ten different ticks."

Suderman says he especially feels the symptoms when nervous. In high school, the syndrome was most noticeable during tests. "Half my thoughts were "don't bring any attention to yourself," and so half the time I'm thinking about that instead of my answers on the test. It really affected my work in high school."

He notes the annual trek brings the community together, especially for youth, "some of them might not know other kids with Tourette's Syndrome and they go there and see others have it, it's nice to see that they're not alone."

Suderman explains his cousin's ten-year-old daughter was recently diagnosed with Tourette's and the family joined in the trek at Assiniboine Park last Sunday. He says he'll do his best to become a resource for her on her own journey with Tourette's.

For those unfamiliar with Tourette's, he says the best advice when speaking with someone with Tourette's is to simply act normal and don't necessarily bring attention to the ticks.

Ryan says sharing the Tourette's journey with his brother made the challenges more bearable, "If we had fun with it, that always helped. It was good having my brother with me."