There is no reason you can't simulate the disabled attribute using a combination of CSS and readonly:
Faux-Disabled: <input type="text" id="start-on" value="1" readonly=""readonly="1" style="background-color:#F6F6F6;"><br> Real-Disabled: <input type="text" readonly="" disabled="true" value="1"></input> Note: This will not have the regular behavior of disabled in the <form>, which prevents the server from seeing the field. This is just in case you want to disable a field that doesn't matter server-side.