Ten miles is a long distance to cover by foot.

But for 9-year-old Aidan Wallsmith of Baldwin City, 10 miles will help him get just one step closer to a cure for Tourette Syndrome.

Aidan has put together Aidan’s Trek for Tourettes in an effort to raise money for the Tourette Syndrome Association.

“It’s something where a lot of people get together and walk to raise money,” Aidan said.

Participants in Aidan’s Trek for Tourettes have a choice of walking 5 or 10 miles, beginning at his house, 1884 N. 500 Rd. The 5-mile group will end at the Baldwin Elementary School Intermediate Center, and those walking 10 miles will turn around and walk the five miles back.

The trek will take place at 9 a.m. Saturday. The entry fee for adults is $25, and $10 for college students and children 12 and under.

Aidan was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome, a neurological disorder which is defined by motor and vocal tics, when he was 6. He was originally diagnosed with childhood tic disorder, but because his tics prolonged for more than a year, his parents took him to Children’s Mercy Hospital, where he was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

“I think that at first it was really difficult because we didn’t really understand what was going on and we thought he was being kind of defiant,” his mother, Heather Wallsmith, said. “We didn’t understand the OCD part of Tourette’s that goes with that. So now that we’ve figured all that out, I think life’s a little bit easier.”

Aidan’s diagnosis is mild, with his tics mainly being muscular motions or quiet, constant humming. This does not stop him from being a normal kid, who loves doing math, building forts and being outside.

“There might be periods of time where (his tics are) more pronounced, but the stuff you usually hear about and see about with the yelling out; sometimes the swearing, he’s never had that before,” his father, Dan Wallsmith, said.

After a “frustrating” summer, Aidan and his parents came up with the idea of doing something to raise money toward a cure for Tourette Syndrome.

He started out by asking his family members to donate money to the cause rather than giving him gifts for his birthday. His initial goal was $50. He reached that within 10 minutes. The next day, he upped his goal to $500. He had $500 “in no time.” Now, his goal is to reach $5,000.

“We think it’s probably enough … to help find a cure for Tourettes,” Aidan said.

The community quickly caught on to Aidan’s cause. He created a website where anyone can read about Aidan’s cause<a href="http://www.active.com/donate/teamtsa1/aidanstrek"> website where anyone can read about Aidan’s cause</a> and make a donation and sign up for the trek. So far, Aidan has raised $3,600. and make a donation and sign up for the trek. So far, Aidan has raised $3,600. website where anyone can read about Aidan’s cause and make a donation and sign up for the trek. So far, Aidan has raised $3,600.

“I really think that the whole community has been really terrific with it. I was really shocked,” Heather said. “I thought, ‘this will be great, we’ll make $50,’ and I just didn’t know that it would be anything like this.”

Aidan is confident that this event will help find a cure to his disorder so that “everybody does not have to have it.”

“I really think he believes that his $5,000 is going to do it, and we haven’t discouraged that at all,” Dan said. “I think it’s something with him that he’ll want to keep doing.”

If his $5,000 doesn’t quite do the job, he knows just what to do.

“Well, if I don’t find a cure,” Aidan said, “we’ll probably do it again next year.”