Philadelphia honors little boy and his 'Dragon Drawings'

CENTER CITY (WPVI) -- A little boy with a lot of talent was honored by the city of Philadelphia today for his creativity and for his charity, giving back to others living with the very same challenges that he's finding a special way to overcome.

10-year old South Philly native Santino Stagliano is autistic and artistic, channeling his creative talents on t-shirts, which feature his original dragon designs

His mom, Lisa Stagliano, tells us, "He's always been creative, always expressed himself through dragons since he's been little. And now he is expressing it to the world and we are just so proud. So proud."

His dragon tees are now an internet sensation, and Santino donates half of the proceeds to autism awareness.

Santino was honored today by Philadelphia city council members.

He's sold more than 150 shirts, and there are 500 on order.

Council members showed off a few of his dragon drawings today.

Councilman Mark Squilla said, "From one single post on Facebook this turned out to be a great, great story. And not only a great story, but a reason to help others."

Santino's parents got emotional - tears of joy and pride from both mom and dad for the big moment.

Santino showed his appreciation, telling those in attendance, "I love you all so much for liking my shirts."

His mom says, "I am so proud... that he just got up and said that little speech would have never happened six months ago."

Santino will also be the featured artist at the Roxborough Community Art of Life Festival this weekend.

If you're interested in ordering one of Santino's dragon shirts, visit: http://santinosdragon.myshopify.com