In 1967, current director Sally L. Smith founded The Lab School of Washington to provide individualized and structured instruction for children and adults with learning disabilities by using an experiential, arts-based methodology. The Lab School's mission is to:

(1) provide comprehensive diagnostic-prescriptive educational services specifically designed to meet the needs of individuals with learning disabilities who are of average to superior intelligence,

(2) assist the students to become productive members of society,

(3) enhance the capacity of families and professionals to work with them, and

(4) develop new programs and services for dissemination.