Mine has been a perimeter-walker too. In his case it's not primarily due to his being "above" other kids in subject matter, it's because his social skills are poor due to Asperger's Syndrome. His interests are unusual, true, but it's the fact that he doesn't have good judgment about when to talk about what with friends, and his poor game-joining skills, that make him liable to be alone. I think this situation would not look so very different if our DS weren't gifted.
We're actively remediating social skills and see that he's become much more able to participate on the playground and elsewhere than he had been. The playground, after all, isn't about intellect or black holes or whatever-- it's about having the sportsmanship skills to be able to play kickball or whatever, and to want to join others in play.
DeeDee
