Spelling You See vs All About Spelling

I was looking at the SUS samples that arrived by link in my email today and I’d love to have a little chat about the difference between SUS and AAS.  I have two 8yo boys who struggle with spelling.  (On their recent standardized tests they scored at early 1st grade and later Kindergarden when in fact they are middle 2nd graders.)  That said, we’ve never done any spelling work so at this point I’m not too concerned.  That said, :), they both seem to have some learning challenges (dyslexia, dysgraphia maybe) that may play into this equation.

We own AAS vol 1 but I don’t use it.  (This past year we’ve worked heavily on learning to read and they didn’t seem ready for spelling lessons.)  I don’t really like AAS but I don’t know how to explain why.  We use AAR (one boy is in vol 2, the other starting vol 3) and that seems to work very well for them.  (We don’t use the tiles but do use a whiteboard and do everything else as the program says.) 

When I looked at the SUS samples I liked how they color in the different vowel/suffix/etc combinations with colored pencils.  I like the use of the passages and less emphasis on spelling lists.  And then, I wonder, am I just being a curriculum junkie and want to do ‘somethign new’ when what we already have is perfectly good. 

Does anyone know if SUS is considered Ortho-Gillingham and is that important for my sons with (maybe) dyslexia?

Also, will the amount of writing needed for SUS be problematic for my son with (maybe) dysgraphia, which I’m also trying to figure out how to address/help.  I’m looking at the Jack and Jill level and I don’t think the beginning of the book would be too much writing for him but I’m not sure about the second half. 

I know SUS is not even out yet so there won’t be many thoughts on it but for those of you who are on their mailing list, or whoever it is who is reviewing the curriculum (I’m sorry I’ve forgotten that), if you have any thoughts on these questions I’d really appreciate it!