Ooh, yeah, accusing you of mistreating isn't all that cool.

The regional differences in ASL are the same way. I took a few classes here in Utah and then some in Oregon and had to re-learn them. But my biggest dialect problem comes from the little time I spent interviewing Deaf people in Kenya--KSL uses the ASL finger alphabet, except for the letter T, which is an obscene gesture in Kenya. So I picked up the habit of signing it the KSL way.

I have real trouble with pretty much every aspect of signing--both making signs and understanding others. But I'm glad it's working well for you!