All kids all have drivers and triggers, and it's up to the parent to learn what those are in order to get that child properly disciplined, but there's still situations and contexts where you need to show that child a line NO ONE CROSSES has been crossed, because we're in injury or death territory.

I'm reminded of my sister's eldest son, who has about a 150IQ and often shows behaviour that verges on sociopathy. I caught him once, doing the once over to see if adults were paying attention, and then intentionally trying to push his toddler sister down the stairs into the basement. I caught her by her diaper, teetering just at the top of the stairs.  I told her brother I saw him planning it, that I knew it was intentional, and gave him a couple of swats on the ass, over his clothes.

Of course there was a kerfuffle with my sister, but do I think I did the right thing? Absolutely. There's misbehaviour, and then there's malice, and that was malicious and could have killed her.