I'm unsure if '.5 years old' was intentional or not.
If that is what you are asking, then .5 would be a simpler way of saying 'point five', which is again a simplification of saying 'zero point five'. That means that someone who is .5 years old is actually 0.5 (half a year) old.
If the question was about the use of 'year' vs. 'years', then the above comments are correct.