AVKO is a non-profit, 501(C)3 membership organization focusing on the development and production of materials to teach reading, spelling, handwriting and keyboarding.  They tend to focus on children with mild to moderate learning disabilities, and dyslexia.  Don McCabe himself is dyslexic, so he gears his teaching towards teaching those with dyslexia.

I was asked to review AVKO’s member site, which appears mainly to include helps to the many books offered by AVKO.  Since I was not given any actual books or curriculum to review, I did not find the website to be applicable (since I don’t currently own any AVKO materials).  Nonetheless, I did attempt to navigate the AVKO site to see what additional member content might be available.

The site was extremely difficult to understand (or maybe I should put on my dunce cap?).  Most of the material on the site was not free but available at a member discount.  There were samples to the books to view, but they just looked like the inside of a textbook, with no corresponding instructions or explanation.  There were videos to view as well as worksheets and articles.

If you already use AVKO materials, I believe the site would make more sense to you and probably be a great value, especially in light of the discounts, videos, worksheets, and other items.  The membership cost is $25 per year.  With that you get discounts on AVKO materials, free ebooks, access to Member Only section, AVKO newsletter Words, access to Don McCabe’s popular workshop recordings in MP3 format, and supplemental curriculum materials including word games, worksheets, activities and more.

Are you looking for a spelling program?  If so, check this out and see if it is meant for your family.  If you have children with reading or spelling difficulty and your current curriculum is just not working out, check out Don McCabe’s videos to see if this fits your teaching style.  These videos will give you good insight into the basic premise of his teaching method.

I was given this membership site trial free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.  I was not paid to review this material.